Serendipity
by Elementalcrystals
Summary: Matthew always had problems trying to become a great author. It was a mere coincidence or a stroke of luck that the answer to his problems would happen to meet him in his favorite cafe shop. Thailand x Canada, CRACK pairing, Human AU, Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

So I've been using this app called Prompts, which is helping me practicing my writing. This story will mostly something I work on in my freetime which means the chapters are going to be rather short unlike Secrets which is what I'm trying to work on when I get the chance. This also means that it'll be unbeta-read so I apologize in advance for grammar issues.

Anyways, as I always I hope you enjoy the story and please review, I would love to hear any feedback from the readers.

**SPECIAL NOTICE:** Chapters are currently being edited by my beta-reader NinjaSphynxKitten and being reworked to prevent any loopholes by me. So I apologize in advance. It should however not change the story or the enjoyment of it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 1

It was a small café that Matthew had entered. Located on the northern edge of the windy city of Chicago. He had always enjoyed the peace and quiet of the place. The aroma of the coffee permeated the air, noises of small talk and the machine grinding away at the beans blending into the background. All were music to his ears.

With a soft smile, he grabbed his usual; coffee and breakfast sandwich before thanking the barista. He took long strides towards his usual spot in the corner of the café. Two armchairs separated by a small round coffee table. He always loved this spot. It gave him comfort as not a lot of people would be in this side of the café. It was also quieter even when the café became packed during the morning rush.

Once everything was set down, Matthew looked around at the small number of people who were occupying the room. Some of them were staring at their phone screens, others enjoyed their drinks, and then there were people like him, laptops out and fingers flying across the keyboard. He watched for a brief moment before getting started on his own work. Pulling out his laptop, he began to type away idly. The Canadian's violet eyes bored into the screen as he tirelessly worked on the next scene of his novel.

Matthew was a small time writer. Only a few of his stories were ever published, but none have been best sellers. He had a few good ideas on why though. His publisher and editor, the judges of every novel he's written always said he must relate it back to the audience, draw them in. Make it more realistic. A good book can connect back to the readers, but a great book makes them feel like they're living in it. It's true; he has always enjoyed stories that were able to draw in his attention and relate to, but the ones that drew him in were consider masterpieces in his eyes. Despite that his book did draw _his_ attention... but it didn't mean that it would draw in the audience's attention as well. And that worried him.

His cousin, Arthur Kirkland, is one of the best sellers in fantasy. Only a few years older than Matthew, he had already made a name of himself in the writing industry. He's currently writing a trilogy meant to blow away his audience. He used to talk to him to ask for advice on writing, but soon realized how different they were. His advice was to capture the audience's attention in a fantasy that may seem too unrealistic to happen, but still has enough to make it work. It was great advice, no doubt for a fantasy novel, but unfortunately, the Canadian didn't think that would apply into his style of writing.

Since he was young, he has always enjoyed reading, preferring to pick up a book and read than any other thing. This lead to his passion of writing fiction. Even fairy tales were enjoyable to write, but that never satisfied him enough. What he wanted was a long fulfilling novel. Something that people would want to read again and again without a need to close the book. Unfortunately, the ones that were published were shorter stories; less than 200 pages. Even with those books published, it wasn't his best work and he knew it. It may have satisfied him to finish the book; he was overjoyed holding the first copy of his book. But it didn't last. His books weren't flying off the shelves. The characters were often called dull, lackluster. They weren't the words he'd like them to be described and it hurt to know his characters didn't convey what he wanted. Yet compared to the stories that got rejected, they had more character and plot than the others. Even if he didn't want to admit it.

"Excuse me."

His fingers paused, a bit frustrated at stopping in the middle of his sentence. But the Canadian for one was never rude. He gazed up, curious mauve eyes meeting a stranger's. His hair had an interesting way of holding up much like a Dutch friend he knew of. A contagious smile graced his face, clearing any frustration that Matthew held.

"Ana, do you mind if I sit here? It doesn't seem like there's any other seat open..." Staring straight into the blonde's violet eyes, almost mesmerizing him with beautiful golden eyes. Hesitantly, Matthew nodded, unsure about the sudden wave of anxiety he felt.

"Oh, sure... I don't mind." He spoke softly.

The man's smile brightens as he takes the seat next to him. "Thank you..."

Nodding, Matthew dropped his gaze down to the laptop, letting out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. _What just happened? _It was like his presence took everything out of him. It unnerved him a lot, but he simply repositioned his hands before attempting to continue working on his story. His eyes didn't obey as they wandered to the corner, looking at the male.

There he sat, leaned back comfortably against the chair, quietly drinking his coffee as he looked around the room through his spectacles, watching. To Matthew, it was like everything in life was perfect. His demeanor was tranquil, a calming smile gracing his lips as he watched everyone go about their daily lives.

Somehow, he tilted his head to get a better view not realizing that he was full-out staring at him until it was too late. The Asian had turned his head towards the blond, questioning.

"Ana? Is something wrong?" He asked.

The Canadian shook his head, quickly. Last thing he wanted was a stranger to think he was some kind of weirdo. "U-Uh no... Nothing's wrong..." A light blush crossed his face from embarrassment of getting caught.

Bemused, he smiled and nodded. "Alright." He continued on staring at the other customers.

Matthew observed him for a little longer before returning his gaze to at the laptop trying to work again. Unfortunately, it was useless as he realized nothing was flowing from his fingers like before. Scratching the side of his head as he scrolled through the chapter he had written. The chapter had a good amount typed, so he should be proud that he got _something_ accomplished today. Yet he didn't feel like he fulfilled what he aimed to finish for today. He reached down for the other half of his breakfast sandwich before taking a bite then looked at the words in front of him. The violet eyes skimmed through the words as he continued to scroll through, his eyes flying over what he had written.

Only one chapter was written before today's work, but regardless, he wasn't happy with what was already there. Something was lacking. It wasn't what he envisioned and surely wasn't something he would say he was proud of as of now. His hand ran through his long golden locks as Matthew leaned back, stressed. There had to be something he could do to make it better, anything. If he couldn't continue, this would be the third story that he had to scrap and start anew this month, which was the last thing he wanted. Only a few made it past the first chapter and even less made it past the fifth. Overall, each story had a beginning, but rarely had an end.

Matthew was crestfallen staring at the machine in front of him. It was upsetting him more than usual that fewer stories survive to the end. Even if he lost interest or came to the realization that the story was going nowhere, he felt guilty... Guilty for starting something and not completing it. It gnawed at him, but even he knew that it wasn't going to work. And even if he were to show the draft to his editor, then he'll have proof that his novel can't be published.

It saddens him. He's always loved books. Long stories, short stories. Horror, romance, adventure, every genre stirred different emotions within him. Even if he wasn't interested, which was rare for him, he would read them to the last page- no matter how long it would drag. So, being a writer, being in the position of composing the story, its scenery, the plot, meant a lot to him. It bugs him that with each story he wrote, more failed then made it to the end.

"Ana... is everything okay?"

The sudden sound brought his disheartening gaze towards the man. Golden eyes stared back to huge violet ones. But the staring contest ended when Matthew blushing lightly. Shaking his head, his honey-colored hair swaying with each turn. "N-No everything is okay..." He put his hands up reassuringly, trying to convince the man. Though in his mind, he was just hoping he made sense through his fumbling.

The Asian watched, amused before putting a hand up to stop him. "If you say so... Your expression looked rather depressed. I don't mean to pry, but I would hate to leave you as you are...It wouldn't be right."

"It's nothing to bother you with..." Matthew muttered lowly, unsure of himself. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell him. If anything, he would love to talk to anyone about his stories. But this situation didn't seem like something many people would understand. _Though a different point of view would help… _His mind argued.

He hummed lightly as he played with his coffee cup. "It would be no bother to me. I've heard it's easier to talk to a stranger than someone you know sometimes... But if you are fine then there isn't any worries, yes?"

Matthew considered the statement. He's also heard of the idea of talking to a stranger was much easier than someone he would know personally. Although, he never considered putting it to the test because he never got the chance to. _Well if I do freak him out at least I won't see him again_. He thought before glancing at the Asian. "I'm a writer... but I've been having problems trying to finish a story. I guess I lose interest. And it annoys me that I can't finish a story." He continued, spilling out his thoughts to the man, who watched intently. The Canadian spoke, using his arms for emphasis and almost dropping his laptop a few times, giving him a heart attack. Nonetheless, he proceeded whilst the patient man listened to his ranting. "And it'll take me a while before I actually finish one and even then it's not exactly... great." He spoke dully as his shoulders slumped.

"I see..." A pause. "What's your name?"

He mentally face palmed himself when he realized that he just ranted his entire problem to a man that he didn't introduce himself to. "Sorry. I'm Matthew... Matthew Williams."

The Thai's gentle smile returned. "Ana... I see."

Before he could ask for his, a woman interrupted him.

"Tau." Standing before the Asian was a beautiful woman. Her long dark brown hair was tied in a low ponytail and exotic golden eyes that matched Tau's, were trained on the Asian. Her expression didn't look too happy as a frown appeared, her eyes narrowing. She spoke in a different language, her tone stern.

Matthew observed the two curiously, looking from a frowning woman to a smiling man named Tau. It was strange how much they contrast each other at that moment, Matthew noted. Tau had responded back to the woman in the similar language they shared as he stood. He paused momentarily, put his two hands together, and gaze her an apologetic look. "Ana… give me a second." She huffed before heading out of the room. He returned his gaze to the bewildered Canadian. "My name is Tau, Matthew." He looked over his shoulder briefly before smiling at the man. "Why don't we meet here again to continue our conversation, Matthew?"

Still unsure about what had happened, he nodded, "Sure."

Elated, he returned the nod. "Tomorrow, same time then, Matthew." With a wave, he followed the same path out as the lady.

Matthew watched before leaning back against the chair. _…what just happened in the last ten minutes?_ He wondered as the previous events played in his head. It seemed unreal to him. He couldn't help, but smile. For once he was able to talk about his frustration without anyone talking back at him, disagreeing with him, or ignoring halfway. He happily sighed, glad get that off his chest. Staring at his laptop, he looked at his unfinished chapter… it did deflate him a bit. _…I still need to finish this chapter…_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

I hadn't expected to post chapter 2 this quickly, anyways I do apologize as I do not know a lot about boxing so I'll be improvising most of it.

* * *

Chapter 2

He had hoped for some inspiration on his nature walk. Something to take his mind off of things, but clearly it wasn't helping. The day was beautiful despite his lack of thought. It's a crisp autumn afternoon. The wind was blowing through the park, rustling the colorful leaves on the ground. Sounds of children playing at the playground, laughing, giggling after getting out of school. Few parents stood by, watching the toddlers join in the mob of elementary students.

Matthew sighed sitting on the bench, watching them. After Tau left, he couldn't remain focus to be able to concentrate on his story. Not only that, nothing flowed correctly. Each word sounded force attempting to get through the sentence much less the chapter. It was the last thing he needed right now. He had wanted to get something to his editor before he left on a vacation. At this rate it seemed hopeless to be able to get the chapters completed for review. Burying his head into his hands hopelessly, he stared down at the uneven ground. Most of the grass was turning yellow as the weather has gotten colder. He leaned back into the bench and looked up at the clear sky.

How was it that Arthur could sit there in his office all day and write as if there was no end? Did he not have writer's block as often? Matthew has always wanted to visit his cousin while he was working. It would be interesting to see someone successful in action. Unfortunately, he's unnoticed or completely ignored after being mistaken as Alfred, Matthew's older brother. The Canadian sighed heavily. _Well it could be worst._ He mused. He could be mistaken for his other cousin, Francis. It would _only_ lead him cursed at and kicked out of his office. Though now that he think about it, it wasn't anything new if Alfred was there either.

A sudden chill in the air caused the blond to shiver, burying his head into his scarf. Reaching down to grab his laptop bag, he headed out of the park. As soon as the scenery changed so did the environment. The peaceful sounds of the children and nature was soon replaced. The sounds of honking and speeding cars zoom past the blonde's ears were hard to miss. How he missed his parent's home in Ontario. The house in the forest sat by the lake. Tranquil and quiet all year long. It was something he always looked forward to during the holiday season.

He lived in the city after attending university within the city of Chicago. It was also the place he had wanted to work for his writing career. Sure, Matthew preferred the rural areas better; even the suburbs would be more preferable. But with the career he wanted to start, he needed to start it in the city. Though as of now, he would do anything to go back to the rural areas. Just as a car sped with ear splitting music blasted out of their speakers. "Point taken for rural…" He muttered through the cold air.

Heading up the stairs, he searched through his pockets for the keys. Peace and quiet. _Maybe I'll make some pancakes for dinner. I still have some maple mom sent from home_. The thought immediately brighten his mood as he slid the key into the lock. He paused hearing noises on the other side. Rather loud noises to be exact. Rubbing his temples, Matthew immediately knew, dreading the sounds of his obnoxious brother.

He prepared himself as he unlocked the door and immediately tackled by Al. For a moment it felt like he saw stars after hitting the wall named his brother. It wasn't until the bone shattering hug brought him out of the stars and back to earth.

"Mattie! See! I told you, he wasn't kidnapped." A loud voice yelled into his ear.

"You git, you're the one that had a panic attack and almost called the police on him!" While a English voice yelled in his other.

He let go, pushing the Canadian to the side. Before proceeding to argue with Arthur who dutifully comply. After readjusting his glasses, blinking a few times to get his vision to correct. Matthew watched, befuddled by the situation. Not on the argument (he was used to that), more so on how they got into his apartment in the first place. "Al, how did you get in?"

He stopped, holding the fuming Brit at an arm's length away. "Arthur has your spare key in case you lost it."

_Right… I had forgotten about that_. It seemed logical to give Arthur as he sometimes crashed on the couch when he went to the bar close by. Plus he was his emergency contact. "Then why are you here? I thought you were busy with Kiku on the new game coming out."

"We are, but don't you know what's tonight?" His voice filled with excitement much like a little kid's during Christmas.

The Brit groaned a bit. "Your grammar is atrocious, Alfred. It's not what's tonight. If anything it'll be 'what tonight is' or 'what's happening tonight." Despite being born and raised in England, Arthur had came to America to work. He often regretted moving due to the vastly different cultures. Yet never settled to return back.

Al rolled his eyes. "Well _sorry_ for being excited enough to be caught by the grammar police. Didn't you read the sign? It's a no grammar zone here."

"And where exactly is this sign?" He retorted.

"Anywhere I am!"

Matthew laughed a bit at his silliness. "Well what _is_ happening tonight?" He figured it was probably some kind of sport's game that was being held in the city.

"Boxing!" The American cheered.

"Bloody git, what joy is there in watching two grown men fight?" Arthur folded his arms, frowning at Alfred. Clearly annoyed about the nonsense as he always has been.

"Pssh, where isn't there joy in watching them fight? It's like when we were younger and watching you and Francis fight. But you know... less of a sissy fight and more of a man's fight." Adding onto Arthur's anger without realizing.

The Brit scowled at him. "Did you call me out here just to annoy me? And I'll have you know, I only fought that way because of that frog! He's always whining every time I punched him and nothing else."

"Yea... sure..." Al sneered as he turned back to his invisible brother. "So Mattie, do you want to come? I called Artie here too, but he didn't want to go..."

"As I mentioned before, I have a deadline coming up. I don't have time for any of your nonsense, Alfred." Arthur crossed the room, heading out of the door. "Now if you excuse me. Goodbye Matthew."

"O-Oh, bye Arthur..." Giving a slight wave.

"Hey! You forgot to say goodbye to the hero!"

"Go to hell, Alfred." The door slammed shut, leaving the two brothers alone in the room.

Alfred shrugged it off, accustom to their cousin's insults. Grinning at his younger brother. "Well Mattie, you want to go? I brought two tickets, but seeing as Arthur doesn't want to go..." Taking out the tickets and waving them in front of the brother's face. "It'll be really awesome if you can come with, Mattie."

The blonde hesitated, eying the tickets. Matthew wasn't one to turn down tickets to any sports game. Hell, he would sell his soul just to get tickets to a Leafs' game. He loved the adrenaline that a game gave him and the energy he had after. It would become a need of his to play after watching. Some nights he wasn't able to sleep correctly without releasing the adrenaline rush.

He's never seen boxing as much of a sport. "I don't know Al..." He spoke quietly. It was essentially a fight between two men and he was never one for violence. Out of his family, he was likely the most pacifist despite being a huge fan of hockey. In which he wouldn't mind giving a good punch to anyone that badmouth about the sport. A sport that encourages fighting wasn't something he wanted to be a part of.

"Aww, come on Mattie! It's just like hockey..." Alfred slung an arm around his brother. He continued to try to convince him as he was sneakily headed out the door.

Suspicion grew as he watched his brother. "How so?"

"Well, first remove the ice, the gear, the sticks, the puck. Then leave the screaming fans and fighting, and you have boxing!" Giving his signature laugh.

"That's nothing like hockey!" Exclaiming as he tried to remove his brother's arm away from him. Sadly, he always had the short end of the stick when it came to strength. At least compared to Al.

"That's what they want you to think, it's just a conspiracy, don't worry about it. So you game?" He didn't let his brother have another word as he headed to the station.

* * *

Alfred kept his grip on his brother as they pushed through the crowd to get into the arena. The mob of people that came to watch this was astonishing to Matthew. Piles of people continued to gather from every direction. He hadn't expected boxing to be this popular. _Wasn't it like MMA?_ Matthew grimaced, knowing for a fact he couldn't think that. He knew nothing about the two so who was he to judge.

Once they were inside, the crowd filed into their seats. Noises echoed throughout the room, bouncing around the dome room. In the center, held the ring. It was on a raised blue square platform; much like what he has seen in movies. Red and blue ropes connected to the tumbuckle.

Taking another look, amazed with the amount of people who came to watch. The seats filled up in a blink of an eye. His eyes continued to wander around the room taking in the energy. "...So what is this again?"

Al had gotten a soda while he was preoccupied with taking in the atmosphere. "Boxing… Dude, you've been working too much. Your memory's going bad." Reaching over and giving a pat on his head as he slurp his soda as loudly as he could.

"I know that Al… I meant is it just a random match or…?" Unsure on how to frame out his question as his lack of knowledge on this sport wasn't much.

"Oh, well there's this boxing tournament happening here in the city. They're holding the tournament for the top 8 competitors from around the world. Kiku scored me some tickets and let me go see the match. And seeing as you were living here in the city, I decided to stop by." In other words, he needed a place to crashed which didn't surprise him. He did wished his brother would visit for the sake of visiting sometimes. It wasn't the first time for him to do something like this. "I know the finals are in New York City, but it happens to be on the week for the game deadline. I don't think Kiku would appreciate me flaking off that week."

"Al, I don't think he appreciates it now..." Matthew muttered lowly. In Kiku's point of view, it would be better if Al flaked off this week. He'll be able to fix things now than during the last week of finalizing everything. He felt bad for the man sometimes, but Kiku never seemed to mind. "Well besides that, when did you even get into boxing? I thought you were all about MMA and WWE?"

"Well yeah I still am." Sounding a bit insulted. "But Kiku told me about boxing, so I checked it out and it's some pretty intense stuff. I would think you would appreciate it as you keep complaining that the WWE fake."

"And it still is."

Al pointed an accusing finger at his brother. "Lies!"

Looking at the opposing finger with a stoic look, he look up towards Al's eyes. "Are we really going to have this argument now?" And he wouldn't lose, that's for sure.

He narrowed his eyes. "…we'll discuss this at home like civilized men then." He spoke as he continued to slurp his drink. "Anyways, boxing is supposedly the real deal. I still don't understand everything about it, but looks cool."

Matthew sighed. _Should have known it wasn't smart to get information from Al of all people. _He listened through word of mouth and took in any information through doing rather than researching. "So who's fighting tonight?" Considering he was already stuck here, he'll attempt to understand the sport. He doubt he'll get far, but it doesn't hurt to try. He'll at least have some visual basis if he ever decided to have boxing in any of his stories.

Al's interest peaked, grinning as he explained. "Well it's the first night of the semi-finals. It'll be this American named Sean against this English dude from the United Kingdom. Which is why I wanted Arthur to come, but he refused." A pout formed on his lips. It was clear that Alfred wanted Arthur to come, but for all the wrong reasons.

Whether it was genuine or just to annoy him was hard to tell. Matthew never blamed Arthur for refusing to go along with Al's crazy ideas. If he wasn't related to him, he wouldn't been swept along with most of his ideas. Rarely was he able to get out of it. Even when he did, guilt would bring him back. Just to ensure that he was okay.

"Though, they're after the first two fighters. I'm not too interested in them, but it'll be a Cuban versus an Asian. I decided to bet on the Asian, 'cause Kiku's Asian and he's awesome. Thus Asians are awesome."

"Al, that's not a legit reason to vote on an ethnic group like that... If anything, shouldn't you look at how well they've fought?"

"Well…yeah, but Sean's a brawler, he'll take home the win no doubt about it." Confident in decision as he lost interest in the conversation. Proceeding to slurp the living death out of his drink as he watched the ring.

Matthew sighed heavily. He wondered how much Al had bet on these fighters. Hoping that Al hadn't bet a lot on a match, he slumped into his seat. Feeling a bit drained even though the event has yet to start. He wouldn't mind if this was something he had enjoyed or even curious in, but when it wasn't. His energy quickly depleted in crowds. Despite the energy emanating from the room was unreal. Cheering over two people fighting each other didn't seem right to him. And as his mind continued to argue over the moral rights of this. He looked around for an exit, wondering if it was best to try to escape before it started.

Within seconds, the crowd started to become rowdier and alive. People hollering out names and booing others. His attention was brought to the ring as the boxers entered to get ready. The first one to get in had dark skin and his hair tied back in dreadlocks. He had a rather smug grin as he waved to the audience. Egging them on as they cheered louder. He headed into one corner with a group of others that were already waiting for him.

Matthew frowned a bit, now hoping the Asian would beat him too. He never liked cocky people. It annoyed him to no end whenever he would play against one. The amount of frustration in competing wasn't worth it. Granted, it was satisfying whenever he won against them. His brother could be one at times. For example, he had a huge advantage for strength sports such baseball and football. Al was confident in his strength and knew Matt would never have a chance in beating him. Matthew had speed, hands down. Mattie always beaten him in hockey and even in basketball they were evenly matched.

As the crowd continued to scream and shout for their favorites. The Asian boxer walked into the ring. Heading straight for his corner without giving a look towards the audience. The Canadian blinked looking at the boxer. His appearance was oddly familiar. Leaning forward a bit, he tried to get a better view of him. Light tan skin tone and what looked like spiky black hair from behind. _It couldn't be him, right?_

Elbowing his brother to get his attention from cheering. "Hey Al, what's the Asian's name?"

"I have no idea... started with a T, but now seeing them in person... maybe I should of bet on the Cuban..."

"Is his name Tau?"

"Hmm? Oh yea, that's it." Grinning, remembering the name. "How did you know? Are you psychic or something?"

Mattie paled as he looked up at the screen noticing the similarities of the two. _What was the likelihood of someone having that same name?_ Wishing he knew more Asian names. The boxer stood by an identical girl from the cafe. She wore a suit similar to what the other girl had wore. _And what was the likelihood of him being with the same girl as this morning? _They stood along with a few other guys. It looked like a pep talk before the event. Feeling his stomach turn a bit as he continued thinking. It was without a doubt that it was Tau when his name appeared on the screen. Even if he didn't know him that well, he didn't want him pummeled by someone. Hell, he didn't want _anyone_ to be pummeled in general.

"Hey Mattie... you're looking a bit pale... you alright, bro?"


	3. Chapter 3

Well this is unexpected. I was originally just going to have this story as a simple side story that I would work on when I was bored, but it's turning out to be something that I'm working on continuously. Though it may start to slow down as classes start next week. Anyways, thanks for my followers for following! I hope you'll read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 3

It was over in seconds. At least that's what Al had told him. It felt longer to him as cheers could be heard from the outside. Curiosity poked him, he wanted to know, but he couldn't stand there watching anyone get attacked, even if it was a controlled environment. The match went on for a few rounds and Tau pulled through knocking out the competitor and moving forward to the semi-finals.

The thought of him winning warmed the Canadian's heart a bit. He was always happy when someone he knew was able to succeed. Unless it was hockey, in which, he hated to admit it, but he was _a bit_ of a sore loser. In the end, he couldn't watch and left the arena, sitting outside in the entrance way. There's no way, absolutely no way for him to watch two people fight while people cheered. He's always been more towards a passive aggression approach than a confrontational one.

The first match was over and his brother stood before him, concerned. "Hey Mattie, you okay now?" He had gotten him out of the room right before the first round started before running back in to catch the match.

"Yea, I think I'm fine." He, himself was fine, but truthfully it still didn't set right in him. He felt conflicted. If he saw the players fight in a hockey game; how was boxing so much more different than hockey. Maybe going into this, they had one thing in mind was to attack the other. In hockey, only when provoked would they attack. Though, that doesn't always guarantee that a fight will occur.

"Do you want me to bring you back home?" Though his eyes darted towards the doors of the arena, keeping an eye for the next match. Al never played the role of the older sibling well enough, but it was enough for Matthew when he tried.

"No... it's fine, I'll head back myself. Just call when you get to the apartment, okay?"

He grinned, pulling out a set of keys and dangling it in front of him. "Don't worry, I borrowed Artie's set."

"Al!"

He tucked the keys away in his pocket before Matt could grab them. "I'll return it tomorrow when I leave. It's not like he'll need it." He reached over, patting the younger sibling's head. "Just go home and rest for the night, alright?"

His shoulder slumped a bit and nodded. Al ran back into the arena to watch the next match. Matthew sighed, leaning back against the bench. He loved sports and could be a bit of an adrenaline drunkie at times. But this wasn't the exact adrenaline he was looking for... _Not exactly how I would've spent tonight…_ Tilting his head to watch the ceiling, he took in the atmosphere, hearing the crowd cheer once again. _The next two must have already came in._ _Al is probably going to have a sore throat tomorrow from cheering. _

Tau appeared in his thoughts again. Calming smile, relaxed nature, and overall what seemed like a nice guy. He didn't looked like a boxer and the last thing he would imagine was seeing him in the ring tonight. He didn't know any boxers, just the people from the WWE when Al would point out who he liked. (And for Matthew to make a quick getaway after) They seemed arrogant, over the top type of people. Boasting about their power just because they have the strength to show it. It was unlikely that Tau would probably act like that, but he only did talk with him for a few minutes. _Never judge a book by its cover_. Cliché, but often said during his years in college by all of his professors.

"I thought I recognized you." A shadow cast over him staring down with golden eyes. It was the woman that was with Tau earlier today. "What are you doing here?" Her arms crossed, looking down into his violet eyes. Her cold, serious golden eyes with a hint of a glare contrasted Tau's eyes that shone every time he smiled. A slight frown formed on her lips as she waited.

"I came with my brother to watch the match..." Her eyes narrowed slightly like the answer given wasn't the one she was looking for. He automatically straightens his posture, sitting up properly. Her cold stare made him nervous; much like his mother's did when he and Al had gotten in trouble.

He wondered what the relationship of the two was. They didn't really look the same besides their ethnicity and their eye color. So it could be possible they're dating and she was protective of him? He didn't want to assume they were just siblings off the bat. He had made that mistake too many times when he was in school. (One of the few times he was glad he was mistaken for his brother.)

"...I see..." She stood there for a while longer, seeming like she wanted to say more. Instead she turned her attention towards the sounds of incoming footsteps.

Looking down the hall toward the approaching footsteps, a familiar man appeared. Walking casually towards them, his focus was captured on the book held. His hands were bandaged loosely from the match. The jacket he wore was left open for a clear view of his bare, toned chest. Dark spots here and there were turning a light purple from the bruises he attained.

"Tau, you've been into that book since we got it this morning. You didn't even bother changing." Walking towards him, she fixed his jacket, examining the bruises and his hands. "You can at least put on a shirt before putting the jacket on; I don't want you catching a cold tonight." The blond watch as she fussed over him.

That calming smile appeared as his eyes glanced over to her. "Ana, I'll be fine; the hotel is nearby... And it's still hot from the match."

"It doesn't matter, better you being hot than getting sick." She cut him off before zipping up his jacket. "Your friend's here as well."

Confusion filled his face as he looked past the woman, noticing the Canadian on the bench, who waved awkwardly at him. "Matthew? You're into boxing...?"

"W-well not exactly... my brother got tickets and brought me along. I didn't know you were a boxer…"

"Seems like surprises appear around every corner don't they?" Chuckling a bit before questioning him. "But... you do know the match is on the other side of this wall, right?" He teased lightly.

"O-of course I do!" Fidgeting a bit before standing up. It didn't help what little self-esteem he had that the two of them kept looking down on him.

"Well you should be in there to catch the second half; you're wasting a ticket away..." Tau wagged his finger around.

Matthew smiled a bit at Tau's childish manners, easing a bit of his tension. "I was actually about to leave right now..."

This time the woman looked at him. "Not interested in the match?"

"Not exactly..." He didn't want to outright say that he didn't even watch the first match. He looked back at Tau, who looked back intrigued, but didn't push further.

"I see... we're heading back, we can give you a lift if you want." She continued on.

"Oh no, it's okay, I don't want to be a burden."

She hummed before looking down at her clutch bag and pulling out her keys. With a quick turn, she headed out of the building. Tau smiled watching her walk away. "Ana... I don't think that was an option. Come on, we can talk some more in the car. That's Lien. She doesn't mind driving you back; she's just not good at socializing..."

Matthew looked at the smiling Thai then at the retreating woman, realizing it was probably better to take their offer. With a nod, he agreed to it.

They followed after the Vietnamese woman, heading out of the building. Matthew stayed close hearing the noise outside. "Is your brother going to be okay?" Tau pulled his jacket's hood over as they walked out.

"Yea, he'll be staying for the rest of the second match." Once they were out of the building, Matthew realized the noise was from the people crowded outside. They huddled in small groups, some yelling while other cheered.

Matthew watched curious until Tau placed an arm around him pushing him to walk ahead of him. He back looked at the Thai.

"Ana~ I wouldn't associate with them; those guys probably just lost a lot or won a couple hundreds of dollars from betting... We should catch up to Lien." He picked up his pace, keeping Matthew ahead of him. They caught up to Lien and got into the car.

Matthew gave another look at the crowd. "Is that normal?" Matthew sat in the back while Tau took the passenger's and Lien drove.

Tau looked back at him. "The betting? Well most fights are close to the casino, it's hard not to bet." He pulled out his phone and gave it to him. "Put in your address and she'll take you home." He nodded putting in the address quickly before handing it back. "Ana... you live rather far, how did you get here?"

"By train... if it's that far... I really don't mind taking the train back..."

"Nonsense, you're already in the car and I offered." She looked back at him through the rear mirror before he could say anything. "We don't go back on our word, that's why we choose our words carefully, understand?" Matthew nodded quickly. She looked down at Tau's phone before pulling out of the parking lot.

Tau smiled. "Oh right, I've never introduced you two properly. Matthew, this is Lien and Lien, this is Matthew. He's the writer I was telling you about."

"How many books have you've written, Matthew?" She inquired as she kept her eyes on the road.

"About three, but none of them were very successful..."

"Ana, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. You're just starting off, aren't you?" Matthew nodded slightly. Tau gave him a reassuring smile. "Then you'll be fine. Just keep writing."

He watched them. Lien held a serious expression, focused on the streets as she drove while Tau had reclined his chair back slightly, reading the book again. Curiosity struck him; just what kind of story was able to grab his attention like that? It was too dark for him to see the title, but he didn't want to bother him just for that. Matthew watched a little longer before looking out the window, letting the car turned silent.

After a few minutes, Tau closed the book satisfied. "Ana~ That was a good ending... Hey Lien, we should have some pad thai tonight."

"We had that a few nights ago. Didn't you say you'll hold off on it while we're in America?" Tau just looked at her with pleading eyes. It seemed like she saw him too. "Don't give me those eyes. Eating a lot of spicy food isn't healthy..." She scolded like a mother.

"But... Lien..." He looked down like a beaten puppy. "We don't have to buy it... we could just get the ingredients and I'll make it..." Matthew watched almost wanting to go buy it for him, himself. He couldn't tell if Tau just happened to be a good actor, or if he really wanted pad thai like it was the last thing on Earth.

"That's worst, Tau." She muttered lowly. "The hotel doesn't provide a kitchen, unless we convince the staff to allow us to use theirs..." The sound of Tau's GPS interrupted the two as she followed the directions.

"Um..." The Canadian spoke quietly. He didn't want to interrupt the two. It was like the son wanted a toy that the mother refused to buy. It was amusing to watch in his mind though.

Tau seemed to notice him speak as he turned towards the Canadian. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you... What is it, Matthew?"

"That's not it... you can use the kitchen at my apartment if you want... I don't mind..."

His smiled brighten. "Really? I can borrow your kitchen?" Matthew nodded. He noticed that the Thai was almost tempted to jump out of his seat, if the seatbelt didn't constraint him to the chair. "Thank you! I'll even teach you how to make it too. You'll love it."

The Canadian returned the smile. "We can do it tomorrow if you want?" He responded with an excited nod.

Lien sighed heavily as she watched the roads. "Don't let Tau touch the spice unless you want to drink plenty of water, Matthew..." Warning him as she turned onto his street.

* * *

Alfred came home later that night, crashing onto the sofa. Matthew had heard the door opened from his bedroom, smelling the scent of beer drifting from him. He got up from his desk and headed over.

"Hey Al... is everything okay?"

"Yea! It was totally amazing! The American came and showed them who's bossed!" He sat up again, grinning. "You should have seen it, it was unbelievable!"

"I don't think I could even if I wanted to..." He mumbled. "And you went out drinking afterward?"

"Hell yea! I met a couple of people there and we went out to the bar to have a few drinks. Though I almost missed the stop when I was on the train..." He muttered the last sentence quietly. "But who cares! He won! So he'll be moving into the semi-finals along with the Asian."

The Canadian sat down next to his brother. "When are the semi-finals?"

"Next week, they're heading out west to Las Vegas for the semi-finals and then New York City!" Pumping his fist into the air. "It just sucks that I'll be too busy to watch the finals..."

Matthew smiled a bit watching his brother. Even if he intentionally came to Chicago just to watch the match, he did enjoy spending time with him when he could. After they separated from high school, he only saw him during holidays with the family, but even then, it was only for a short amount of time. "Well I hope you'll have some time to watch it, eh?"

"Well if not, I'll just catch the replay online or something..."

He nodded. "I'll go get the pillow and blankets, okay?"

"Sure, thanks for letting me crash here; I have a flight back to New York tomorrow afternoon." He yelled a bit to make sure his brother could hear. "We can hang out in the morning if you want?"

The blonde returned with sheets and a pillow chuckling lightly. "I doubt it. You barely get up until noon. Plus I'm meeting someone tomorrow so we can discuss about my stories."

"Is it your editor?" He snorted. Al never really liked his editor in the first place. After the first meeting, he was scolded by the editor for having an unmannered brother and by Al for having a stuck up editor. "You know, he can be a big douche when he wants to."

"You've only met him a few times; he's not that bad of a guy." He gave him a reassuring smile. _Well if you discount him being a bit of a cheapskate... _He thought to himself before setting the sheets down. "Besides, it's not him. It's a friend of mines who's helping me improve the story."

He rolled his eyes, clearly not hearing the last part. "I don't know why you just didn't follow Arthur... I mean that's what I thought you were going to do when you said you were going to live in Chicago. And besides surely his publishing company is better than the one you're at." He still held a grudge against the editor as he mumbled something between the lines of 'stupid editor'.

"Well I need to make a name for myself first, Al. Even if I change publishers, I don't know if they'll accept my work as it is."

He scoffed, clearly annoyed with his answer. "Suit yourself. Arthur said he's concerned about you. You sure you want to keep going on this path?"

He nodded confidently. "Of course. I love writing. I just need... some inspiration that's all." His family always seemed too worried about him, when they could remember. Though Francis is in New York with Al for his career in fashion, he always called back every so often to check up.

Everyone was always worried about him working in a field that was fickle in nature. Being a writer required a good amount of imagination, talent for writing, and hope if the manuscript will be accepted and printed. The rest was luck especially for new writers.

"Well then, you should write about your awesome hero brother and how he saves people from danger and criminals." His eyes sparkled at the talk of superheroes. He continued on outlining a plot line of how it should be written. Most of which sounded like a vague copy and paste of various stories mesh together.

Matthew smiled, listening to him. Something didn't want to stop his brother from continuing the strange story he's portraying in his mind. He was still a child at heart, but it never bothered Matthew because truthfully, he was probably just the same as well. It was foolish, but it doesn't hurt to keep dreaming.

For Al, that's all he did sometimes. He'll go throughout the day as if it was a video game sometimes. It didn't bother him too much except for the time when he thought he could stop a moving vehicle and almost got ran over by a bus. They were lucky that the bus was already stopping for passengers. Afterword, he was lectured for an hour over the phone by Arthur.

For Matthew, he seemed to daydream of sports half of the time and much like his cousin, Francis, the other half he was a hopeless romantic. It was almost a guilty pleasure reading a romance book sometimes. Al would tease him at times whenever he was caught with romance books in his hands. When they both used to live in their parents' house, Matthew would end up hiding all the romance novels he had between sports magazines or wrap the cover with a paper bag cover he made. It fooled Al enough that he believed it was for school.

He sighed heavily. He couldn't even think about attempting to write a romance novel. It would strange if he were to write a novel under his name for the world to see. And without a doubt, Al would probably laugh at his attempts. He sank into the couch, feeling his slight self-confidence deflate.

The sound of heavy snoring reached his ears as he turned, noticing his brother sleeping. Leaned back against the plush cushions with a peaceful look. Matthew laughed softly; he would be the one that fell asleep in the middle of their conversation. He got up and tucked him in. If he had waited, he could have pulled out the couch and made it into a bed. But he didn't like disturbing people once they've already fallen asleep.

"Night Al..."


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it's been a while since I've last updated, last year of college is no joke... I wanted to thank the guest for the review, I hope you'll continue enjoying it and I apologize for changing from first person to third.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 4

That night, Matthew laid awake, staring at the ceiling above, attempting to sleep again. Usually when this occurred it was often because he was worried about his next stories, worried about next month's rent, worried if this career path he started was going to bring him anywhere. Though this night, it was something completely different.

Even behind closed doors, Alfred still snored loudly enough to be heard through the walls of his tiny room. The walls were paper-thin without a doubt and throughout the time he has lived there, he's heard enough for his own good and made the wise decision of investing in ear plugs. _Now if only I could remember where they were_. He hadn't needed them recently and had put them away somewhere within his tiny apartment.

Matthew turned in bed again, looking at the digital clock on his nightstand. 5:30. Unlike Al, he was always a morning bird. Up at six and in bed before eleven. If he had just woken up now, he would have gotten out of bed and proceeded with his morning routines. Unfortunately he has been up for an hour now, tossing and turning, unable to get back to sleep. With a heavy sigh, he realized the chances of him falling back to sleep were slim to none. He tossed his legs over the side and sat up to start his routine.

He could head to the coffee shop early, normal opening hours were six. At seven, Tau should arrive to discuss about his new book he's working on. Hopefully he'll be able to see Al before he goes back to New York depending on how long he intended to stay at the coffee shop.

After getting ready, Matthew checked on his brother, who was still out like a light. Sprawl out and ready to slide off the couch. He tried to push his brother back onto the couch with much difficulty. "Really Al, did you gain even more weight while you were in New York?" He struggled before getting him back on.

His brother shifted slightly before turning to face the couch. Matthew sighed, wondering why he even bothered sometimes. He waved to his immobile brother before leaving.

The Canadian sat down in the corner of the room again, yawning. After walking out of the apartment into the chilly morning, the realization that he was still tired was imminent. A few sips of coffee hadn't helped and regretted getting coffee compared to his usual. The taste wasn't something he'd enjoyed as he was never a coffee drinker like his brother. Caffeine didn't affect him like most people. Majority of the time, he had to rely on willpower to stay up. He stretched his arms a bit in attempts to stay awake. No good, his eyes were still closing.

He wanted to continue the work he had started yesterday. What little work it was, but Matthew still wanted to proceed with this story. The story was about a guy, who left his home and traveled to a new one to live for a better life. Sounds rather cliché, but he was set on the idea for his next book.

He pulled out his laptop and set it on his lap. The laptop booted up before he work silently on the chapter. Unfortunately, it seemed less productive than he had hoped. His eyes tempted to close as he shook himself to wake up again. He gazed at the clock. Twenty-five more minutes before Tau was due to show up. He can last that long right? Violet orbs stared at the screen once more as he typed what sounded reasonable in his head. He'll go back and edit the grammar and spelling later, Matthew considered as he continued on typing.

He wasn't sure when or how long it has been, but next thing he knew, he saw blackness. He knew he needed to wake up, but his eyes begged to differ. The tiredness overcame him and with that he slept peacefully against the cushioned chair.

Matthew's eyes slowly fluttered open to the blinding lights of the café. He hadn't expected to fall asleep in the café. _How embarrassing._ He thought as he stretched before flinching. Worried about dropping his laptop, he looked down only to notice his laptop was gone. "...where's my laptop?" He then noticed his blurred vision. "Where are my glasses?" He touched the his nose.

"Ana, your glasses are on the table next to your coffee and your laptop is right here."

He grabbed his glasses quickly before looking over to the cheerful Asian waving at him. He blinked a few times before noticing the time in the back wall to see he had slept for a good forty-five minutes. "I-I'm so sorry, I fell asleep!"

His casual smile calmed him as waved it off. "Don't worry, I should have woken you up, but you looked so peaceful. I couldn't help it but let you sleep." His golden eyes trailed back to the Canadian's laptop that was on his lap. "Is this your new book you were working on?"

The laptop that the Thai held still had the chapter he was working on placed on the screen. Matthew blushed slightly. "P-Please tell me you didn't read it..."

He blinked at the question. "Ana... of course I did, it was just sitting there. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what you're working on next." He spoke nonchalantly as he scroll back to the end of the chapter. "Though I wished the chapters were a bit longer, it would be nice to get so absorbed into one that I would need an alarm to ensure I'm not late for anything..."

Matthew blinked. "...Okay?..." _Strange example, but I guess it made enough sense?_ The Thai didn't mind the confusion as his radiant smile appeared once again. He couldn't help but return the smile. As if the Asian's smile was contagious. "How was it...?"

He hummed, looking down at the . "Interesting... but it sounds a bit familiar, but I can't seem to put my hand on it..."

"You mean finger?"

"It's still a part of a person's hand." He scrolled the page towards the end, returning it back to where Matthew had it last. "Only a suggestion, but you should make it more dramatic like he washed up on the shore after falling off a boat that captured him. Oh, or he got on a train and randomly chose his place to live just by appearance. Ana... something like that, though they are a bit random so I don't know if it'll do well with your story..."

He chuckled at Tau's suggestion. It was like déjà vu from last night's talk with his brother. There were the similarities of someone rambling faster than they could think, the ecstatic feeling that emanates from them as they spoke, and the joys of listening to another's imagination being placed in front of one's eyes. But alongside that were also critics. Regardless of how advance a person can write, how long they have been in the business, everyone will always have a variety of opinions. Whether they are good or bad, right or wrong, Matthew wanted to hear them all. "Do something dramatic?"

"Yea, like he fell off a plane and landed into someone's house..."

He flinched at the idea. "Is that even possible? Wouldn't he be dead?"

The Thai shrugged. "Probably, but it'll also depend on the height..."

"Tau... I think falling out of a plane at any height would be dangerous..." He spoke in a worried tone. The idea without a doubt sounded interesting, but it also sounded too unrealistic for what he was writing. He usually liked to keep some realm of reality within his writing.

"And that's why they call it fiction."

"More like fiction within reason…" He said softly.

Tau looked a bit hurt, but smiled in the end agreeing. "Oh, well I'll apologize now since you were asleep... But I showed up thirty minutes late. Sorry..."

Matthew looked at him slightly confused on his apology. "It's alright... I should be the one apologizing for falling asleep for a while... Did you get caught up in traffic?"

"No, the people at the hotel told us another route to avoid the traffic, so getting here wasn't the problem. I was up last night reading and Lien had to wake me up when she noticed I hadn't woken up yet."

"Was it the book you were reading in the car ride? I thought you finished?"

He nodded as he reached into his bag and pulled out three books. "Yea, but I had to finish the last book. It turns out to be my favorite out of the three, so I wanted to finish it as soon as possible." He set them on the wooden coffee table that separated the two chairs.

Matthew looked down at them. He blinked when he started to recognized the names on the cover. "You... You read my books?"

"Well I did say I want to help you, so might as well read what you already wrote about. Lien was mad at me 'cause I spent all day reading each book that I almost lost my focus in the match." He picked up the one on top and gave it to him. "This was my favorite though, even if it ended too soon."

He looked down at the name. "Mischief night..." A smile tugged at his lips as he remembered the book. Al had helped picked the name of the title. He said over in New York and East Coast area, there was this night before Halloween named 'Mischief Night'. During that night, people would play tricks, such as egged someone's house or teepee trees. Most of the tricks were harmless fun, but the story followed two brothers who got caught by their creepy next door neighbor and made an elaborate escape plan. It was a fun story to write as it brought up many good memories of the time he and his brother spent when they were younger and was used as inspiration. "I remembered this book very well..."

Tau watched him smile fondly at the book. It was almost like an elder looking back at an old picture. "Ana... you should remember that feeling then..." His violet eyes drew back towards Tau. "That feeling might be what helps you with your next book."

Matthew's smile brightens as he nodded. He looked at the book again and opened it, fanning through the pages. Blinking as he started noticing highlighter marks in the book. "..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Someone was highlighting in the book..." The Canadian never liked defiling any books he own. He tried to keep them as nice and unwrinkled as he could. Even his textbooks during college, he would refuse to write in them. And if he accidentally did, he erased any that were there.

"Ah... I like to do that from time to time. I highlight out my favorite scene so I can read it over again. Sorry if I messed it up. There are some scenes out there that I can't help but want to read over again. My memory's not too great on the location, so it usually takes me a while to try to find it again."

He sighed, but kept his smile. He couldn't be mad at him for some reason. He even yelled at his brother once for drawing superheroes in his textbook. "No... It's fine, thank you for reading my books, Tau."

"Ana, it was no problem, Matthew. I really did enjoy these, it's sad that they're passed over a lot in bookshops... many books deserved to be read, yours is one of them."

Matthew blushed lightly at his comment. "Th-Thank you, Tau..." He wasn't used to being praised for his work. Arthur would be too busy to look through it. Al never made it past the first chapter for any book due to his attention span. Francis, his cousin, much like Tau, would read through the book and comment on it, but with his work in New York, he rarely had time to read or visit him in Chicago. They often had to talk on the phone instead at least once a month to catch up.

His smile beamed as he dug through his bag. "No problem, but I do have a favor to ask you..."

"Sure, what is it?"

Tau handed him a marker. "Matthew, can you sign my book for me?"

He blinked looking at the marker. "R-Really?" The Thai nodded. Matthew blushed as he took the marker and signed the inside of the book. He kept his eyes on the signature. "Thank you..."

Tau chuckled. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

"No... Thank you for reading my books... I really appreciate it." He couldn't help it. It was an overwhelming power that the stories he was writing were being read. All he could do was smile. He loved that fact that there was someone who was reading his books and enjoying it.

This time, a faint pink rose onto Tau's face. He smiled, reaching over, patting the Canadian's head gently. "Thank you for writing them..."

The two of them continued to discuss story topics as the morning went on. Tau would toss various ideas as Matthew commented while writing down a few of them. They chatted lightly from how a story might progress to different points in Matthew's other books. It was light-hearted and joyful for him as he listened to what the Thai said closely. He couldn't remember the last time he had a conversation like this.

A growl from Tau's stomach interrupted their conversation. "Ana... I think it's getting close to lunchtime..."

Matthew laughed a bit. "I guess so; did you want to head to the supermarket to get the ingredients?"

Tau nodded. "Ana~ of course."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot. Or Pad Thai XD

Sorry about the long wait for the next chapter! Midterms hit me in October and it still seems like it's midterms now... So the updates are slowed down (not to mentioned I've been working on a different story on Koreacest, but that's something different) Anyways I hope you enjoy! And I apologize before hand that I've never made Pad Thai before so I had to go off of videos online. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5

They got lost amongst the different aisles as Matthew pushed the cart after Tau. The Thai was ecstatic as he ran through the aisles tossing in different ingredients into the cart. He chuckled at the Asian's childishness. It was hard not to imagine him dribbling it down the aisle into the moving basket dubbed the cart.

"Three points!" Tau was down the aisle as he shot in a bag of noodles into the cart.

Matthew laughed pushing the cart towards him, watching the bag of noodles land in the cart. "I think it's only two at best, Tau..."

"Stingy..." He walked over with a glass bottle and placed it into the cart. "I call for a different ref."

He stuck his tongue out just as childishly. "I'm the person moving the basket. I overrule your request."

His shoulders slumped a bit. "Alright then, Mr. Basket. What kind of meat do you want on there?"

The Canadian shrugged as the two stopped by the meat section, looking at the various types of meat. "Any seems fine to me, what do you usually put in it?"

Tau surveyed the section. "How about shrimp and chicken if that's fine with you?" He looked at the cart to see what was missing before grabbing the chicken.

"That sounds fine." Matthew watched the Thai, smiling as he watched him look through the cart thoroughly.

"We can put tofu in too." He nodded as he followed the Asian through each aisle. "Ana, I'm surprised the supermarket has Asian ingredients... I would have thought we would have to go somewhere else..."

He looked at the Thai, slightly confused. "Yours don't?"

"Ana, well I usually go to the bazaar outside so I never really had to worry about it. Then again Lien did a good amount of the grocery shopping when she wasn't working. It's almost magical how she's able to find any item needed." He said as he looked at the seafood area picking out bags of shrimp.

"How long have you two been together?" It didn't seem like it was a personal question to Matthew. He was just... curious.

Tau looked at him slightly befuddled at the sudden question. "Ana, well we've known each other since forever... so I guess when I was born? She is older than me."

"...Forever? ...when did you start dating her then?"

"Dating?" He questioned, looking up, pondering the thought. "I don't think I would want to date my sister..."

"W-Wait sister? You're siblings?!" He stammered, embarrassed at the accusation. Though as Matthew thought of the whole idea and situation... it was possible that they did acted more like siblings than a couple... though the thought of them being a couple was still possible in his mind.

"We have faked being a couple multiple times... so I guess that makes sense." The Thai continued talking to himself before looking at Matthew, who was troubled as he was thinking about the two. "Ana... Matthew? Are you okay?"

Snapping out of his thoughts. "Huh? Yea it's just... you two seemed like a couple when I first met you... You match each other well too... so... I thought..."

Tau only smiled, chuckling. "I'll let Lien know that, I'm sure she'll enjoy the comment." It sounded sarcastic, but it was impossible to tell. He reached towards the top of the shelf grabbing another ingredient. "We sometimes faked being a couple... but only since some of the stalkers are absolutely crazy..."

"S-Stalkers?" Matthew nervously then looked at Tau, who wore normal clothing. "Then shouldn't you wear a disguise or something? They'll notice you right away..."

Tau patted his head gently. "Don't worry. I have a hood so it's fine."

The comment didn't comfort him. "That doesn't change anything! What if they find you and you get attacked by a mob or something?"

"I think you've been watching too many movies... not a lot of people watch boxing... much less the light weight division. And if they do, majority of my stalkers don't do much besides send me mail or something." He reassured him. "If there's anything you should worry about is what some girls put in the food they send you."

"What's wrong with the food?"

"Something about putting love potions in the food or something."

Matthew let out a small sigh of relief before laughing a bit at the thought of it. "Now who sounds like they've been watching too many movies? You really believe in love potions?"

Tau smiled. "You can never know sometimes, but that's why I have Lien by my side."

"I'm sure she has _tons_ of fun trying to keep an eye on you."

He hummed. "But the exception might be that one girl... which is why we started to fake date. So it's nice to know that you thought that. It means it's working."

"Wait who?" He asked concerned.

Tau led the cart to the register to check out. "I don't remember the name, but she's the definition of stalker, much like in the movies, except we didn't fall in love with each other and I got a restraining order out of it."

Matthew nodded, accepting it before helping Tau with the bags and headed back to his apartment. The walk was short even as Matthew continued to ask about Tau's relationship with his fake girlfriend. He didn't mind as he found the whole ordeal amusing. Especially the fact that someone as serious as Lien would agree to it.

From what Tau said, one of his sponsors always thought that Lien was Tau's girlfriend, they just left it at that, never confirming or denying they were dating. If it helped keep any others to become stalkers like the last one then it was fine. Their sibling relationship helped with knowing the other inside and out.

They walked into the small apartment. Matthew looked around to see for any signs of his brother, but the only thing left was the blanket and pillow he used the night before laying on the floor. The Canadian sighed walking over to folding the blanket, placing it onto the couch along with the pillow. Most likely, Al woke up late and ran out of the apartment. He's just glad he remembered to lock the door this time.

Tau watched him before taking out the ingredients. "Ana, where's your cutting board?"

The blonde returned grabbing them from the lower drawer. "Do you need anything else?" Setting a few cutting boards onto the table.

"We'll need a couple of bowls to hold the ingredients, measuring cups and knives. Oh and a large bowl for the noodles." Matthew grabbed them accordingly placing them onto the table. The Thai's honey orbs followed him. "Have you ever eaten Pad Thai?" He asked curiously.

"I don't think so… maybe the Western version? But I'm not entirely sure if it was Pad Thai." He muttered the last statement before noticing the Asian's stare. Tau gawked as if he's grown a second a head. "I-I mean… maybe? I might have eaten it at an Asian restaurant…" His voice started to grow softer as the Tau's stare continued on rambling.

He listened for a few minutes longer before smiling. "Ana, Matthew if you keep whispering like that I won't be able to hear your voice..." He placed his hand on Matthew's shoulder. "No worries, we'll just make some amazing Pad Thai so you won't forget."

The two started mincing and dicing the ingredients placing them into bowls. Matthew focused as he diced the tofu into cubes. Cooking has always been a hobby of his thanks to his cousin Francis. They were always in-charged of cooking during family gatherings as Al and Arthur's cooking led to questionable results.

Tau was measuring and mincing various ingredients, placing them into small transparent bowls. He had a calming aura surrounding him as his serene smile placed the green onions into a bowl. He bend over to grab the peanuts from a bag. There was a slight hesitation before grabbing the peanuts and putting them onto the table in preparation of being crushed.

"Tau... did you gain any serious injuries in your last fight?"

"Hmm?" The smile made him want to believe there was nothing wrong. Calm without a hint of any pain. He stared at the Thai. It could just be sore and he was feeling the after effects. "Yea, no worries. The medic said I only obtain some bruises." He placed the knife down and looked at the Canadian, sternly. "More importantly... any ideas on your stories?"

Noticing the sudden change in the subject, he obliged to it not pushing any farther. "Well I was thinking he'll find a job there and someone to fall in love?" He hesitated, unsure about the story himself.

The story itself wasn't complicated and he never wanted it to be. A simple plot allowed for more creativity as a complex one required more thought and foreshadowing. But a simple plot can also lead to a complex one and for him to get stuck this soon before it became complex was worrying him a bit. _Maybe I haven't thought this out as much as I thought I had._ He had a couple of scenes he definitely wanted to do especially for his main character to fall in love with someone, but it was just the order of how things would happen without ruining the plot. _This is sounding more complex now that I think about it._ He thought bitterly.

Tau was curiously, wondering why the man has taken an intense interest in the counter. After a few more minutes he broke the silence. "What are you thinking about?"

Matthew looked up from the counter. He haven't even realizing he had been staring. "Sorry, apparently I tend to stare off at something when I'm thinking of the story."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. Have you ever traveled to a new place to live before?"

Matthew nodded slightly at the sudden question. "Yea, when I first moved to Chicago to work... I used to live in Ottawa back in Canada and studied in Toronto..."

"How did you feel about that?" Another question.

Matthew looked at Tau. His smile was thin, eyes intense as if he was testing him. "I wasn't too worried about it. I had Arthur here."

"But what if you didn't?" He set the blade down, moving the ingredients into the bowl. "There was something that was bothering me when I was reading your first chapter... I didn't know what it was, so I didn't mention it. But the main character seems a bit too calm to me. Like he was confident in what he was doing."

"Well he probably knows it's going to be hard, but he knows what he's getting himself into." He watched the Asian. Somehow it felt a bit off. The calm talk that they spoke about this morning wasn't anything like this. This felt like one of the talks that he would often have with his editor. Serious with a slight tension in the air.

And the questions continued to fire."Does he? What kind of personality does he have?"

"He's a confident guy, but felt that the same pattern each and every day was boring so he wanted to start over again." _He's starting to sound a bit arrogant than what I had originally planned._ He thought to himself.

"What kind of location is he going to live in?"

"A rural area. He felt it would be a complete change from a city life."

There was a light snicker, lightening the mood. "Sounds like he's biting a bit more than he's bargaining." He grinned. "But it'll be fun to see the development, wouldn't it?"

Matthew agreed. "That's what I was thinking of as well."

Tau checked over the ingredients, checking to see if the preparation was complete. "Have you ever lived in a rural location?"

"No... I've been to those locations, but I've never lived in one before..."

His smiled returned again. "Ana~ Let's go on a field trip!"

His sudden statement left him befuddled. "W-wait right now?"

"What? No, tomorrow. Or whenever you're available." With a grin, he grabbed a frying pan from the dish rack and dried it off before setting it onto the stove. "We're making Pad Thai today, so we can't go right now."

"Are... are we really going somewhere?" Confused at the sudden turn of events. "Don't you have to train for your next match?"

"Yea, but I can train when I get to Las Vegas. I'm competing on the second day so that gives me about three days to train." He spoke cheerfully.

"Somehow I feel like I'm more concerned for your training than you are…"

"Well training is fine too, but too much can be dangerous."

"When are you leaving?"

"In three days. I'll be heading towards Las Vegas and hopefully to New York for the final, but you never know with these things..."

The Canadian gave a soft smile. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

He glazed back into those violet orbs. "Ana~ Of course." Tau checked on all the ingredients before checking on the noodles he had prepped earlier. "Though they're showcasing us in New York with some fashion show...so even if I didn't get into the finals, all of the contestants have to go to New York that week."

"Fashion show? What does boxing have to do with fashion?"

He shrugged as he kept the noodles in the water. "No idea. They said they're trying to get more people to watch the finale or something. I don't mind either way. Just there to box..." He waved him over. "Ana~ Okay your turn, I'll teach you how to make the best pad thai ever."

With a nod, he walked over to stand by the Thai. He arranged the glass bowls around leaving an empty one in the middle. Matthew smiled watching the Asian's face lit up as he finished.

"First is the sauce. Put in the ingredients of, sugar, lime juice, tamarind, and rice vinegar into the bowl."

He nodded and put them into the bowl. "Mixture of flavors?"

"Of course! That's why it's so good. So after that, the fish sauce and I wasn't sure how well you can handle spice... Lien told me to let you put in the amount spice so I don't have to rush you off into the hospital. Which reminds me, what's the number for the ambulance?"

He couldn't tell if he was joking or not as his constant cheerful expression didn't give a hint. "W-What?!" He looked at the man shocked. "Why would you have to rush me off into the hospital?"

"She says I always make the food too spicy... or too sweet depending on what I'm making." He crossed his arms, his smile turned to a thin line. "I have no idea what she's talking about. It tastes perfectly fine to me."

As he was pouring in the glass that contained the fish sauce, he looked at the empty bowl with a bottle of siricha next to it. "Umm... so how much am I supposed to put in?"

He looked over, his mind still contemplating over what Lien had mentioned to him. "Usually about a tablespoon, but I find it too bland and put in three tablespoons."

Matthew flinched at the mention of how much he would have put in. He wasn't sure how hot one was, but surely three would be a different story. He was always more of a sweets type of person. "We can put in two if you want? I don't think I'll be able to handle three, but two should suffice?" Though in the back of his mind, he wasn't sure if he could handle one. _Just how hot was is siricha?_ He didn't want to disappoint the Thai who was looking forward to having pad thai.

He blinked looking at him, unsure. "Well if you're certain about it, then sure. But just to be on the safe side, let's follow the recipe and stick with one. After that, just mix the contents together and you have pad thai sauce!"

With a nod, the Canadian stirred the ingredients together until it became a sauce. He watched the ingredient slowly mixing together into a reddish-brown color.

While he handled the sauce, the Thai went over to the stove and set up the next part of the process. He searched around his cabinets before finding a cast iron pan and placed it on the stove, turning on the heat. He grabbed the rest of the ingredients and placed them by the stove for easy access. "Matthew, when you're done, the next part is ready."

Matthew checked the sauce once everything had disintegrated into liquid and went over to the Thai with the sauce. "Is this okay?"

He blinked and looked at it. "It's a lot less red, but looks fine to me." He took it and placed it to the side. "Ana~ here's the fun part. I'm sure you'll love it. Usually I use a wok, but this works too. The pan is preheating right now, but it shouldn't be long. Also never use olive oil on this, it won't taste as good."

He nodded to the advice before picking up the bowl with vegetable oil. "So vegetable oil first?"

"Ana~ Of course. Then it goes as the following, garlic, dried shrimp, pickled radish and stir a little." The Canadian followed the instructions as he listen intently on the Asian's words. "Next is protein, which we bought tofu, chicken, and shrimp. So place that in. Then eggs."

He followed quickly glad that he was used to quick preparation from Francis' love of cooking and the impatient family members. The Thai didn't take much of a break as he talked normally with each ingredient placed in.

"Oh, eggs are important as you don't really want to break them. Here, I'll show you." He moved to the right side of the Canadian and covered his hand over his. He skillfully broke the eggs with his other hand. Then started to move the rest of the ingredients towards the edges of the pan.

Matthew blushed at their sudden closeness. From the Thai's point of view, it doesn't seem like he realized how close they were as he focused on the food in front of them. His body was slightly brushed up against his to be able to move the blond's right hand with his own right hand. His callous hand held onto the softer Canadian's hand firmly.

"Ana, okay so you leave it like that for a bit and let the eggs cook." He spoke into the Canadian's ear before letting go to get the noodles. He checked them before dumping the water out.

Matthew kept his focus down on the pan in front of him, after the Thai went to the sink. Mostly to calm himself. _Maybe personal space wasn't a thing in Thailand._ He watched the food simmer in the pan before turning his head towards Tau. "Hey Tau..."

Tau was already standing in front of him, looking directly at him. His face inched closer. "Ana... You look red, are you okay?"

Matthew jumped back slightly. "Yea... It's probably just the heat..." He laughed it off nervously.

Tau nodded as he took the noodles and dropped it into the pan. "Now all we need to do it put the noodles to bed."

"...Put the noodles to bed?" He raised a brow.

He once against took a hold of his hand and maneuver it around the pan. The wooden spoon scooped up the ingredients and moved it onto the noodles. "Like that, just do it all around and then mix it."

Matthew nodded as he let go again. Matthew mimic the Asian's movements as Tau watched closely. "Just like that. Looks perfect, just mix it around a bit now." He nodded following the instructions.

A knock interrupted their focus as he turned towards the door. "I'll get it. Just a few more turns and it'll be finished.." The Asian went towards the door.

Matthew was about to stop him, but he was already out of the kitchen by then. He continued on before turning off the fire. He reached towards one of the cabinets to grab the plates before hearing a familiar loud voice.

"Hey Mattie! I'm back and- who the hell are you?"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

Glad to see there's a number of you reading in the shadows. Anyways the next chapter will be in works soon hopefully if not it should be up by Thanksgiving break, if the professors decides to not overwork me on break that is. I hope you enjoy the new chapter and please do review if you get the time, I would really appreciate it.

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Chapter 6

The one thing Matthew knew for sure was that Al was one overprotective brother. Without much of a compromise, he'd often drag him into strange situations or never allowed him out of his sight. Due to him, he was always hidden in the shadows during his years at school.

Matthew turned off the stove and ran over to the door. He wanted to make sure Al wasn't doing anything. Standing in front of him, his brother and friend stared each other off. Al with a frown as Tau's smile falter slightly. Al stared at him for a couple minutes longer, thinking. "...you look very familiar now that I think about it..."

Did he really not recognize him? Matthew wondered. "Al, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on a plane?"

His brother looked over, his grin appeared. "Haven't you heard? Hurricane John just got up towards the East Coast; all the airports in New York are closed so the flight got cancelled." He walked into the room with his carry-on bag, setting it in on the table. "I hope you don't mind me crashing again."

"For how long?"

"Probably until tomorrow. They already put me on an available flight for the next day around noon again." He spoke casually before looking at Tau again, suspiciously. "So... who are you?"

"I'm Tau, who are you?"

He walked over putting an arm around Matthew. "Mattie's heroic older brother."

Matthew sighed, unsurprised at this. "This is Al, Tau. He's my older brother."

"Matt, you forgot the 'heroic' part of it, dude." His brother grinned reaching over towards him.

Matthew ducked to get away from Al's head lock before looking towards the Asian. "Hey Tau, can you plate the food? I need to talk to my brother."

Tau nodded. "Ana, of course." He walked away, feeling the older brother's eyes on him as he went to the kitchen.

Matthew frowned looking at Alfred. "You're being rude to my guest."

"Who is he? He looks familiar. How did you meet him?"

He stared back at him, tilting his head a bit.  
"Wait, Al, you really don't know him?"

"I do... I know I do," his eyes kept his watch on the Asian in the kitchen. "...I just can't seem to pinpoint it. But you're avoiding the question!" He exclaimed. "How did you meet him?"

"In the coffee shop, he's helping me with my current book."

"Really? Another writer?"

"No... He's a boxer..."

There seemed to be a slight sparkle in his eyes as he looked back. "Amateur boxer?"

Matthew opened his mouth about to say something, but stopped when he realized he wasn't too sure what Tau was except he was a boxer. "Maybe? I'm not too sure..."

"You're not sure and he's in your house?! What if he's a murderer and he's only trying to be alone with you to kill you? O-Or a sex offender and he'll do things to you Mattie." He grabbed his shoulder. "Bad things..."

"Ana... I can hear you..." Tau stood at the kitchen entry. It was clear that he was a bit uncomfortable with what was being discussed. "If it's a bother, I can leave, Matthew."

"No, you're my guest Tau, it's alright." He frowned looking at his brother. "Al, Tau isn't like that. Can't you give people the benefit of the doubt?"

"No." He walked towards the Asian, their heights were similar, but Al had an inch or two over him. He frowned looking down at him. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a boxer. Though I'm sure Matthew already said that." He smiled at the brother, a forced one, but none the less, a smile.

"Amateur?"

"Of course, it's only for fun after all."

"Are you in tournaments?" Tau nodded. His eyes narrowed. "Recently?"

"Yesterday, if you want to be exact."

And it clicked. "Wait... Tau... You were in the ring yesterday weren't you?" Another nod. Alfred turned towards his brother. "I thought you didn't know anything about boxing! And yet you have a boxer as a friend?"

"I just met him though..."

"How mean..." Tau teased lightly. "We've known each other for a few days... I don't think it's that recent..."

The American didn't notice the teasing as he turned back to the Thai. "Do you know Sean?"

"I've run into him a few times, but I don't know him that well... Why?"

"He's Al's favorite boxer currently." Matthew said dryly.

"His style is awesome; you should've seen it, Mattie! No one is going to beat him. He'll win it all... Oh, no offense, Tau."

"None taken... He's an interesting one, but I've only seen him box a few times. Slugger without a doubt."

"But that's what makes it interesting. Not saying yours isn't good..."

Matthew sighed listening to Al continued talking excitedly about boxing. Despite that the tension was gone, Tau still looked uncomfortable as he listened to Al. "Hey, how about we just eat, me and Tau made some food."

"I've already plated three plates. Shall we eat then?"

The three ate in the living room, Al continued talking as he ate. Spatting out a few bits of food. Tau listened as he ate, looking over to Matthew a few times, who was slowly disappearing into the background. He gave him a worried expression, but Matthew smiled giving him a wave that it was fine. Once he looked away, he sighed heavily watching his brother speak. He had gotten lost after he started talking about the other boxers. None of which he knew about.

Tau hadn't spoken much either as he listened to the older brother ramble on only saying a few words when given the chance. It wasn't until thirty minutes into this one-sided conversation that his phone rang. He excused himself to the kitchen before picking up the phone.

Matthew watched before looking at his brother. "Hey Al..." He looked over giving him his attention. "Not that I mind having you here... but," his voice was starting to get softer as he tried to find the right words. "I think you're bothering Tau with all of this..."

"Mattie, I can't hear you, speak up, dude."

He was about to start again when he was interrupted by Tau. "Ana... Lien's coming here, so I'll start cleaning up in the kitchen."

"Oh, let me help." He grabbed the empty plates and followed. "Al, you can watch tv or something if you'd like?"

He shrugged and turned on the TV flipping through the channels.

Matthew let out a sigh of relief as he placed the dishes into the kitchen as Tau started washing them. "Sorry about that... I hadn't expected my brother to show up."

He chuckled. "It's fine, your brother is an interesting character. Especially compared to you. Regardless, I still enjoyed today's cooking session." Setting some of the plates onto the drying rank as he finished washing them. "Did you still want to have a field trip tomorrow? If you're not busy that is..."

"Sure, but where are we going?" He questioned before seeing the Thai grin.

"Who knows? Somewhere rural I suppose. I'll go rent something for tomorrow unless you have a car?"

Matthew shook his head. "I've never needed one since I was in the city..." Not to mention the cost of gas and car payments wouldn't have helped his situation. During times where he needed money, he would often get a part-time job to help paid the bills. Arthur and Francis had offered to help, but they had their own payments to worry about. Not to mention Francis was living in New York City where prices seemed unfair majority of the time. Al was living with his friend Kiku in New York City as well. He didn't want to leave most of the burden on Kiku, even if it felt like he did sometimes.

"That's fine then. I'll get the privilege of driving you. I'll meet you here at eight and we'll find a rural area for your story."

* * *

The next morning, the Canadian double checked his bag. Tau said not to carry much, but enough in case they were to get lost and had to stay somewhere. Which left him with spare clothes, a notebook for data, a map and hygiene items. He pulled the strings on the bag and headed out, seeing his brother once again snoring away on the couch, a goofy grin on his face as he muttered incoherent words. He left a note on the door to remind his brother to remember to lock the door.

Outside, Tau was sitting on a red motorcycle, waving to him. "Ana~ Good morning."

"So this is why you said to pack extremely light."

"Well I've never bothered learning how to drive a car as easiest way to get around back home was by bike or motorcycle..." He got off and placed his bag into the compartment and gave him the helmet and gloves before getting onto the bike. "It's cold so you may want to have these on."

Matthew nodded before placing the helmet over his head, brushing out a few strand piece of blond hair. He climbed on behind Tau, putting on the gloves.

Tau revved the bike, looking over his shoulder. "Hold on, okay?"

His hand grip onto his shoulders. "Any clue where we're going?"

"Nope~" He kicked the stand and speeded down the street.

Matthew yelped almost losing his grip. Cold air blasted past them as Tau drove towards the edge of the city. His body shivered slightly from the wind. His face was protected with the shield, but it didn't stop the goose bumps that formed on his arms. His grip tightened on the Asian's shoulder with each turn. Once Tau stopped at a red light, he transferred his grip to around his waist, holding on tighter.

He felt the Thai tense up a bit before turning his head slightly. "Are you okay back there?" He yelled.

"Yea. Forgot how powerful a motorcycle was..." Tau nodded as he drove out of the city. Matthew clung on holding onto the Asian feeling the warmth that emanated from him. A light blush cross his face when he realized the position they were in, plus the closeness. He could have held onto the bike itself from the back handle, but with the speed that Tau went and limited knowledge of physics, he didn't want to risk it flying backwards.

They stayed quiet as the noise from the wind didn't allow them to talk. Matthew didn't mind, he would probably be embarrass and end up stuttering if he were to talk. He turned out towards the scenery to relax his mind. The urban scenes slowly change, unfolding before his eyes, amazed at the different scenery before him.

Trees rose before them as they sped through the suburban area. It shaded them from the sun that eventually peaked higher in the sky. Tau turned, pulling into a parking lot. He stopped at one of the lots and pulled off his helmet, turning around towards Matthew. "Did you want to get breakfast here? It'll be another hour or so before we get into the rural areas."

Matthew looked at restaurant and nodded, letting go of him as he got off the bike, stretching a bit. "So you did know where we were going this whole time?"

He looked at him sheepishly. "I might have gazed at a map last night, but I didn't memorize it or anything..." He spoke as they went into the building. The waitress there brought them to a stall and gave them their menus. "I'm Liz and I'll be your waitress this morning. Anything to drink?"

"Water." Tau mentioned as he look through the selections.

Matthew looked over to her. "Same."

She nodded and walked away.

Matthew peeked up from his menu. "So where are we going to?"

"Family farm if anything. Apparently there's a lot in the area, but I wanted one in a wide open place."

"And you found one?"

"Not exact, but it'll work out."

The brunette came back with their drinks. "You two aren't from around here are you?" Placing the cups and straws down.

Tau shook his head. "Nope, we just drove from Chicago, but wanted to get food before heading out some more.

"Having a lover's vacation?" She mused.

Matthew almost choked on his water. "W-We're not dating..."

Tau chuckled at Matthew's reaction. "No, we're just friends, Liz."

She pouted a bit, but her smile returned. "Well you two look absolutely adorable on that bike together, so I just assumed..." She pulled out her pen and paper. "So what would it be for you?"

"Breakfast special." Tau folded the menu and returned it to her.

"And you?"

"Pancake deluxe."

She nodded and took the menus back. "Alright and please do save room for dessert, my dear husband makes the best molten chocolate cake here, unlike that lousy chef of ours." She turned and headed towards the counter. "Hey lousy chef! One breakfast special and one pancake deluxe!"

"I've heard ya, you crazy woman! No need to yell!"

"What was that Gilbert? You wanted me to fire you?"

Tau smiled watching them before turning towards Matthew. "How was your brother after I left?"

"In the same position since you left, screaming and yelling at the game." Leaning back against the cushion stall getting comfortable.

"He must be really into the game."

"He loves baseball." Matthew cringed a bit at the sport.

A brow raised. "Not a fan?"

"Not since we played when we were younger..." The Thai stared, confused. "Al likes being pitcher and when we play, he often aims a bit too low..."

He nodded understanding. "I see... Well at least you don't have to worry too much now a days."

"Well except for Thanksgiving. The whole family, even those in other countries, come to celebrate and we tend to play a sport during that time since we usually have enough people..."

"That sounds like fun... But would your female family members join?"

"Majority are males actually. I think there's only two females that shows up every year and they often ignore us or cheer us on."

Tau smiled softly. "Sounds like a fun family reunion."

Matthew looked down a bit, smiling. "Yea... even if I hate the sport... I don't mind spending it with my family..."


	7. Chapter 7

Okay so I missed Thanksgiving upload, it was finished, but holidays and family ended up pushing it back to Sunday. BUT good news, Chapter 8 is completed and Chapter 9 is in the works. I do have important news unfortunately so I'll just bold it as I have a feeling none of you really read the section up here anyways. ** PLEASE READ:** The next chapter, so chapter 8 I will be putting this story on **HIATUS**. Now hear me out here. I want to go back and edit the story. As of now I feel like the lack of viewers or no reviews is because the story is a CRACK pairing, but I also feel like the story isn't grabbing people's attention like I want it to for them to write reviews. For that reason I will go back and edit and fix up the story somehow. I'm not entirely sure as of now how long it'll take because I don't have a beta-reader (or at least an official one). I'll probably keep writing chapters while editing because I don't want to give this story up, but for now the story will go on hiatus and won't be updated for a while. So yay if you read through this cause now you know the next chapter will be up by the end of the week. Anyways enjoy the story, I would love to hear some opinions from you guys and hope you enjoy the last two chapters for now.

I apologize ahead of time for grammar issues as I haven't been able to go through and fix it due to schoolwork and family.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I have used and the plot.

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Chapter 7

Some would say that when you're going on a trip. It's best to plan beforehand. Tau denied all of that and runs sporadically ahead without a need to be tied down with a schedule.

Matthew smiled, listening to Tau's story back in his homeland. He was here on a work visa along with his sister. The food came as they spoke about their family members. Eventually they started to share stories to see which family could outdo the other in how bad they were.

"Alright, well Al thought it was a good idea to allow Arthur to cook for a week since he was upset that Francis always cooked when they visit."

"So? You don't get gourmet food for a week?" Raising a brow. He understood that Matthew's cooking inspiration was his cousin Francis.

"Arthur can't really cook... it somehow comes out charred every time. We're not sure how it happens."

"So food poisoning for a week?"

"We almost ended up in the hospital!" He laughed a the memory. "Francis had to sneak us food by the third day."

Tau laughed. "Well I'm glad you guys are still alive."

"Barely..." He leaned his elbow on the table, looking towards the Asian. "We were tempted to do a detox right after too..."

"Alright, well I don't have a cooking story. But we were all placed on a diet one time by Lien."

Matthew blinked, looking at him. He didn't seem like he would need one. "You too?"

"Yea, me too. She's always so strict even when she was younger. She said if one of us was on it, then all of us should be. We had a check up from the doctor's they said that some of us were had too much sodium in our system while others were taking in too many calories for our age."

Matthew chuckled. "Alright. So what were you placed on?"

"More vegetables and less sweets."

"So you were one of those kids that didn't like vegetables too?"

"It's not that I don't mind it now... but it's always brussels sprouts..." His expression turned sour. "She wouldn't let me leave the table until I ate all of them..."

"Sounds like a typical mom."

"She made me sat there all night! I couldn't go to bed! She slept on the floor to make sure I didn't leave. I was stuck there with two of my cousins all night."

Matthew burst into laughter. He has met Lien a few times, she did have that air of seriousness, but didn't expect it to be that bad when she was younger. "Did you sleep at all?"

He folded his arm. "Yea at the table. Mei took pity on us and gave us pillows and blankets. We just sat there in the dark with brussels sprouts on our plates."

"And you eventually ate it?"

Tau sighed sadly. "Yea... we weren't allowed to eat breakfast if we didn't finish them..."

"How long did this last?"

"Until the doctor said we were 'healthy' again." Using his fingers to air quote the word.

"How was the food?" The waitress stopped by picking up the empty plates.

Tau smiled. "It was great. Thank you."

The Canadian nodded.

"Oh good, at least he did something right..." She smiled. "Did you want any desserts? I promise they'll be amazing."

Tau looked at Matthew. He gave a look back, nodding a bit before giving her his casual smile. "Sure, why not?"

"Fantastic!" She gave them the dessert menu. "I'll give you some time to look at it." She turned around and went back to the counter.

"So? How was my food?" The cook grinned at her.

She frowned. "At least you didn't mess it up. They're just being nice to you."

"Pssh, you just don't want to admit that my food's awesome."

"That's cause it's not. Where's Roderich? They're going to order dessert." She said placing the metal tray down with the dishes as she brush the front side of her skirt.

"Playing piano, what else? I'll make them instead. They'll be awesomer."

She grabbed the metal tray and hit him over the head. "Like hell I'll let you do that!"

"Interesting atmosphere..." Matthew watched the two before looking towards Tau.

He nodded. "But it's nice, isn't it? Like a homey feeling." Smiling softly as he looked around the diner.

Matthew smiled, nodding. "Yea, kinda like home with all the arguing..." He felt at peace like this, leaning against the felt in the stall. Calming. It's almost like he wanted this feeling to last forever. Casually chatting about the past and heading towards someplace without any knowledge. But it was fine. No problems in the world. He felt that he didn't have any worries. Even when in reality he had many.

"Any thoughts on desserts?"

"I'm thinking the strawberry shortcake...you?"

"Well she did say that he made good molten chocolate cakes. So I'll probably get that." He pointed to the picture.

The Hungarian returned to take their orders again, smiling happily that they were getting desserts. She turned around yelling again. "Roderich! Strawberry shortcake and molten chocolate cake!" Her tone sweeter than when she spoke to the cook. She turned to them. "So where are you guys going?"

"No idea, Tau's driving."

Tau nodded. "It's a surprise~ Though I'm still wondering where we're going too."

She innerly squealed. "Well I hope you'll enjoy it, wherever you go. Just try not to get caught in the storm later tonight."

"Ana, we should be back in Chicago by then. It's supposed to be late tonight?"

She nodded. "Around nine according to the newscast. It's windy too so it may cause issues if you're driving around in a motorcycle."

"Thanks for the notice, we'll make sure to keep an eye out, Liz."

The brunette nodded before going back to the counter.

"Do you really have no idea where we're going, Tau?"

"Hmm? Ah, well... I may know the direction, but I'm not quick sure on the destination. So we'll see when we get there." He smiled leaning on the table with his elbows. "Just trust me, okay?"

Matthew looked at him, slightly surprised on the words. Then again, he was starting to realize the last few days that there was something about him that allowed him to give his trust to him easily. He smiled. "I will."

The Thai smiled happily.

The desserts were set in front of them, beautifully designed. The waitress smile happily as a man dressed in a long navy coat stood by her. "I do hope you enjoy them."

"He makes the best desserts in this area."

Matthew watched the two. The woman smiled at the man lovingly as he returned a reassuring smile. He wondered, how it feels to love another like that. Would his character be able to find someone where he could trust and love them without a second thought? He looked down at his dessert, thinking. Would it be nice?

"Matthew... If you keep staring like that, the cake will become shy and run away."

"Huh? What?" He looked up to the Thai.

"Oh nothing... You look deep in thought."

He looked down at the cake again. "Just wondering about Liz and her husband." Tau looked at him quizzically. "I was wondering if the character in my book would be able to fall in love like that

He chuckled. "Maybe, I guess that's the beauty of a story, somehow, they find a way to fall in love. It's nice isn't it? It's like the writer is the ruler of the character that determines what happens to them."

"Sounds a bit... devious, Tau..." Unsure if the Asian was trying to make a nice comment.

"But we as the readers get to fall in love with these characters and understand what happens to them. Go through the ups and downs, cry and smile along with them. In the end, it works out, doesn't it?"

He smiled softly. "Yea... it's nice to always see the end results and how far the characters go."

Matthew quickly finished the dessert before waving to the staff and left with Tau.

"Come back again!" She yelled, waving to them. She smiled. "Hopefully as a couple."

"Elizaveta... I just saw the news, the storm might be coming faster due to the wind... I've instructed Gilbert to bring some of the umbrellas inside."

Liz headed out of the diner about to warn them, but they zoomed by her back onto the road. She held down her skirt to prevent it from flying before watching them go. "I hope they'll be okay..."

Matthew held onto the Asian as he looked up to the skies ahead of them. It was starting to get cloudy compared to earlier partly cloudy. It was still chilly as they drove down the road. The wind felt like tiny needles poking into his sides. Tau speeded through the empty road. It curved every so often, but majority of it was a straight path.

Large vast fields sat on either side of them. The land stretched for miles. Due to colder seasons, there wasn't any crops that were grown, but he could imagine if they were tall corn stalks how high would they grow. He'll have to remind himself to look at it next summer. For now he could see the end of it where the trees stood barely.

Tau eventually stopped turning into a barn area, parking next to a car. He took off his helmet. "This looks interesting. Let's go here."

"A farm?" Matthew took off his helmet, looking around. There were kids running around with their families. School buses were parked as well as students got off and looked around.

"Well you did say rural, usually I would think that'll be a farm like area. Though it's popular for schools and families, it'll at least give you a sense of how it looks." He put his helmet in the storage compartment with Matthew's.

Matthew had his bag with him to allow space for the helmets. They walked around the farm area dodging the tiny children flying around like bullets. He didn't mind thought, he had a fondness for kids. He always thought he would become a teacher, but in the end, writing won that battle.

He walked around taking notes here and there about the building, the animals squealing. His thoughts, what he saw, standing in the place of his character. It all flowed though him. "Tau, this is amazing. It's just..." He turned to talk to him, blinking when the Asian was missing. "...Tau?" Where did he go? He wondered.

"Chicken?"

Matthew turned around and jumped back when he saw the live hen in front of him. "Holy..."

Tau laughed. "You'll hurt the poor hen's feelings, Matthew..."

"Tau... when did you... how..." He tried to formulate the words in his head, looking at the hen clucking. "How did you get the chicken?"

"Ah, so this is your writer friend." A tan man with messy brown hair and bright green eyes smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo." He held a hand out with a grin.

Matthew shook his hand still confused. "I'm Matthew Williams." He looked at Tau for answers.

"I'm owner of the farm here. When I saw this guy though, I instantly knew him from yesterday's match. "It was a very good match! Muy bien, Señor Tau."

Tau returned the Spanish man's bright smile with one that match. "Thank you, it's an honor to meet someone that watches me. Also thank you for letting me hold the chicken." He returned the hen to him.

"No problem! I'm more than happy to help." He turned and held the chicken out towards Matthew. "Would you like to hold it too?"

"Oh..." Matthew put his notebook into his bag before taking the hen from him. The feathers were soft as it looked around. Her wings were flapping a bit.

"Oh Señor, keep a grip or else-" The hen jumped away and started running away. Matthew screamed a bit letting go of her. "Ay! Come back here!" He ran after the chicken.

"S-Should we help?" Matthew's eyes were still wide from what had happened.

Tau chuckled. "Sure, why not?" He ran after Antonio. Matthew was close behind them. Tau caught up easily to the farmer. "Ana~ How do we catch a chicken?"

"Oh, it's quite easy... you corner her and hope for the best."

"How is that easy?!" The Canadian exclaimed.

"But it does sound fun, Matthew..." Tau chased after the chicken. The chicken jumped each time the Spaniard jumped at her. It cluck and continued on.

The children laughed and smiled seeing the chicken out and about. Some chase alongside them, but the parents and teachers stopped them.

The three of them chased and tackled to catch it. Antonio and Tau even bumped heads a few times trying to grabbed it at the same time. They laughed it off before chasing after her again. Matthew tried several times to sneak up on her, but the chicken would turn her head, noticing him and ran off in the other direction.

Tau and Antonio stood back to back looking around. "Where did she go?"

"Ana... I'm not sure..." A similar confused look as he looked left and right.

Matthew blinked watching them as the chicken walked between their legs. "Umm... guys..." They looked over before Matthew pointed towards the chicken walking through Tau's legs.

"Got it!" Antonio jumped diving under Tau's legs knocking over Tau in the process. He caught the chicken, but Tau fell over knocking the wind out of him. He let go as the hen continued on.

Matthew burst out laughing. "A-Are you okay?" He ran over helping them up.

Tau smiled. "I'm fine, but I think I body slammed him by accident. Antonio, are you okay?"

"D-Don't worry... I'm fine..." He said trying to catch him breath. He stood up, stretching his back a bit.

"Che palle, what are you doing, stupid bastard?" He had the hen in his hands. Light brown hair with a curl that parted from his hair. Blazed amber eyes as he frowned at Antonio.

Antonio smiled at him. "Lovi, I thought you were still buying things in town?"

"I just got back to watching you pathetically catch a chicken. Damn it and apologize to the visitor you knocked over." He left with the chicken.

Antonio looked at the two. "That's Lovino, my boyfriend. He also works on the farm with me." He looked towards Tau. "Are you okay though?"

"You cushioned my fall, is your back okay?"

Antonio nodded slightly. "Yea, don't worry. Well I should get back to work, you're free to touch any animals you want, just tell Lovi or me and we'll bring you to it."

"Thanks!"

"Oh, Antonio... Is it possible for us to go out into the fields?"

"Si, of course. You're always welcome to."

"You bastard! Toni! Get your ass in here!"

"Oh, gotta go. I'll see you later!" He waved as he ran off towards one of the sheds.

Tau waved as he turned towards Matthew. "Shall we then?"

The two walked out into the middle of the fields. Matthew looked around. Wide open fields all around him. The wind flew through his long golden hair. He felt free as he walked around the area. No boundaries, nothing holding him down. "Tau..."

"Hmm?" He walked over next to him.

"Thank you for bringing me here. I really appreciate it..."

He smiled. "No problem. I'm enjoying being here with you too."

He looked up to the sky noticing the darker clouds before looking down at the landscape. He wondered how beautiful it would be on a sunny day with crops that filled the land.

Tau blinked before looking up to the sky. "Ana... it looks like it's about to rain... I felt a rain drop."

Matthew looked up as well. "Didn't Liz say it was going to rain tonight?"

"That's what I thought too..."

"We should go then..."

The two left the fields heading back to the cycle, feeling a light drizzle. They got back to the lot when they heard the Spaniard's voice. "Are you two leaving?"

"It's starting to rain, so we should head home soon."

"Where do you two live?"

"Chicago."

"Dios Mio... That's a two hour drive. Why don't you two stay, si? Lovi won't mind."

"Like hell I would mind. Don't just take in strangers off the street."

"But Lovi it's going to pour and they live in Chicago." He whined a bit. "And look, they're on a motorcycle."

"Where exactly are they going to sleep asshole? The barn?" He frowned, putting his hands on his hips.

Tau put a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine, don't worry. We'll just find a hotel to stay or something."

The sky started thundering as the families and kids were going back into their car and leaving.

"Nonsense, we'll find room, won't we Lovi?"

He huffed, frowning. "Whatever, if they rob us, you're sleeping with the pigs for the next month." He walked back.

He smiled happily. "Come on, bring your bike into the shed." Leading Tau towards the shed.

Tau looked at Matthew. "Are you fine with this?"

Matthew nodded. "Sure, but is it fine you're here?" He wasn't opposed to it and he did enjoy the feeling of being here. It gave him some piece of mind.

"I'll let Lien know and maybe go benchpress some pigs or something..." He joked.

He shook his head, chuckling at the Thai's silliness. "Fine, I'll spot you then." Following after him.


	8. Chapter 8

As promised, got it up before the end of the week. Again remember that this chapter will be the last one for now as the story is going on **HIATUS** due to editing that will be taking placed after finals. I also feel like I don't know how any of the readers feel about this story and if I should continue. So for now it's going on hiatus. You can read the whole message if you haven't on the previous chapter. I'm sorry if there are those out there that is reading it, I just wished I could hear what you think for those that are interested in the story. Anyways until I put up the next chapter. Thanks for reading! And I hope you'll read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I have used and the plot.

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Chapter 8

There were no sounds here, only the sounds of the rain tapping on the roof. It had ended up raining until night. The wind shook the windows as Matthew was helping Lovino cook. Antonio wanted Tau to teach him some moves which Lovino threatened that if they broke anything they were sleeping out in the rain.

So they both ran to the barn to practice as the Italian and he were preparing dinner. It was silent as Lovino gave him ingredients to dice and he grabbed a pot to prepare the broth.

"How long have you been dating him?" Matthew tried to start a conversation. The quietness between the two was unnerving. It made him more nervous as he was cutting up the vegetables. It was entirely different than when he cooked with Tau.

Lovino was stirring the stew. Tasting the broth before adding other ingredients in. He focused on the pot, adjusting the temperature. Once that was done, he returned to cutting.

Matthew sighed and turned back to the cutting board, cutting the carrots. He figured he probably wasn't going to get an answer out of him. He didn't want to have us over in the first place. The Canadian didn't mind either way, but he did feel bad for dropping in unexpectedly.

"A few years..."

Matthew stopped and looked towards the Italian. He didn't look up as he was cutting. He seemed to have calmed down, but there was still that air of tension that held true for the Italian. Something unpleasant if he tried to cross it. He fidgeted, uncomfortable. He wanted to try to be friends with him, or at least find a way to ease the tension out, but was unsure on how to approach it.

"For fuck's sake, watching you is making me nervous. Stand still or you'll cut your own finger off, jerk."

"O-Okay..." His voice soften, cutting it slower.

Lovino sighed. "How about you?" He muttered looking at the stove.

"Huh?"

"How did you meet him?" He blinked looking at the Canadian staring at him. Strange that he was talking to him. "I-It's not like I want to start a conversation with you! I'd rather not be liable if you cut off a finger or something. Stupid bastard, leaving me with a stranger." He looked slightly embarrassed as he started to stir the pot at a faster pace.

Matthew smiled a bit. "I met Tau at a coffee shop. How about you?"

He looked over. "I knew him since I was little... he worked here with his family and would sneak tomatoes to me sometimes..." He looked over. "Are you done with the vegetables?"

"Oh, the peppers are done. I'm almost done with the carrots." He resumed cutting the carrots, looking down at it.

He reached over putting them in along with other ingredients. "We're going to have vegetable stew with rice."

"Okay..." He nodded cutting the ingredients.

"Hey... keep telling me about you two..." He adjusted the heat, not looking at him. "If it keeps you from cutting a hand off then whatever."

"Well he's a boxer. We ran into each other in a coffee shop and somehow became friends. Now he's helping out on my book." Matthew smiled explaining about new book and what he wanted to do with it which ended up with them being at the farm.

"Uh huh..." He took the rest of the vegetables and cooked them in the stew before getting the rice and putting it in a different pot. "So when did you two start dating?"

"W-We're not dating..." He waved his hands, embarrassed. This was the second time someone has said that. Did it really look like the two of us were dating?

Lovino looked towards him, raising a brow. "...oh." He was about to say something else, but decided against it. "Just assumed... with the new law passed, it seemed like the LGBT community grew out of nowhere." He dropped a pinch of salt. "My bad." He said, but it didn't sound like he meant it.

Matthew nodded slightly. "It's fine... but does it really look like we're dating? I mean we just met a few days ago..."

He looked at him again. "...a few days ago?"

"Yea... like 3 days ago..."

Lovino stared at him. His eyes widened like he saw something that he shouldn't have.

Matthew blinked, worried. "What is it?" His voice became timid again.

"Nothing... get those two idiots will ya? I have a feeling they're going to have to shower and I'm not dealing with that smell at the fucking table. There's umbrellas in the closet."

Matthew nodded running out to get an umbrella before going out in the pouring rain to one of the barns. He poked his head in looking around at the barn. Some of the horses looked over from the stall, but continued on eating. He moved and ran to the next barn to poke his head in, hearing voices inside.

"Ana, usually you'll have to be careful because if you get hit in the head, it does cause some serious damage. Every hit you take, you have to take a few seconds to recover, which gives enough time for the opponent to counter if needed."

"Ah, I see! So that's when you keep your defenses up."

"Exactly!"

Matthew stared not wanting to interrupt them. They were engrossed in and from the pieces of hay everywhere, they probably used the stacks of hay in front of them as the punching bag. He walked over to the two. Antonio was the first to notice him.

"Hola, Señor Matthew. Everything okay?"

"Yea, Lovino said to get cleaned up for dinner."

Antonio nodded. "Okay, Tau you can shower first since you're the guest. Lovi can show you where the extra towels are."

Tau nodded and ran back out into the rain and towards the house.

The Spaniard smiled, waving. He looked at Matthew. "So, what did you two cook?"

"Vegetable stew with rice."

"Sounds great!" He went to grab a broom brushing up the pieces of hay that has fallen out. He hummed happily. "So Matthew, was the farm able to help with your brainstorming?"

Matthew stared before realizing he was talking about his book. "Yea, I think it'll turn out great."

"Tau told me about how you needed help with your story. He loved reading English stories when he was younger since it taught him how to read and write the language."

"I didn't know about that..." He said, surprised at that fact. He hadn't realized that it was true that Tau's first language was most likely wasn't English yet he and Lien spoke the language well enough to be able to work here in America.

"So what are you two going to do tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure exactly..." The supposed 'field trip' was said on a whim while they were cooking yesterday. He didn't even know he was coming here much less what would happen today. Their agenda was empty, yet filled at the same time. Even he wondered what they would do tomorrow.

The two of them returned back to the house. Tau was dressed in a loose t-shirt and sweatpants. He was setting the table with Lovino. They looked up.

Tau waved. "Ana, I was about to get you if you were out there any longer."

The Spaniard smiled. "Just cleaning up." He walked over kissing the side of his head. "Smells good though, Lovi."

The Italian blushed, pushing him away. "Damn it, get clean up! You smell like a pig!"

Chuckling, he ran down the hallway. "Sorry! I'll be back."

"Hurry up, we're not going to wait!" He huffed and continued setting the plates.

Matthew blinked watching their relationship. The relationship reminded him of how his cousins were. Francis often teased the shorter Brit only to cause fights. The two got along as well as a cat would with a dog. Very rarely when they were together, it wouldn't cause a fight. Al would place bets whenever they were together with the rest of the family. Often Arthur came out on top or his brothers would step in to stop them. Then there were times his brothers were egging them on. He sighed. 'This family sometimes...' He worried about their well-being.

"Is he okay? He's just been staring for a while..." Lovi watched the Canadian a bit weary.

"Ah, that's normal, he's probably just thinking about his story."

He scoffed. "Well tell him to stop it. It's creepy." He went to grab the pot.

He walked over to him, crouching down slightly so he could meet his eyes. "Ana~ You're going to scare our host away if you keep staring."

He looked into Tau's eyes before noticing how close they were and jumped back. "Tau? When did you get here?"

"Well I was born into the Earth about twenty-five years ago and then got my work visas a few months ago and then I met you at the coffee shop." He smiled happily. "I think you know the rest of the story."

Matthew laughed. "You'll have to remind me about the rest of it later then..."

"But you're the writer, I think I'd prefer your version over mine."

The dinner was slightly awkward as Antonio and Tau spoke like old friends. They spoke about anything and everything. From boxing to farming to even the weather. Lovino ate quietly. Once he finished, he left to finish up some work. This left Matthew with those two.

He felt uncomfortable like he was fading into the background again. It was usual for him to be ignored. Out of the rest of his family, his presence always seemed minimal compared to others. He was soft spoken and preferred the passive-aggressive approach, yet everyone else seems to dive head on and confront things through words or force. Usually force though.

"Hey Matthew, tell Antonio about your book."

He looked over to Tau, sitting next to him. He got up collecting the plates.

"Si, please do. He tells me that your stories are interesting." He leaned against the table, looking at the Canadian.

Slightly shocked at suddenly being the center of attention, he didn't know whether to be thankful or not. But he smiled as the Thai cleared the table giving him a reassuring smile. When wasn't he smiling? He wondered.

He told the Spaniard of the man who was going to live in the rural area to start his life over again. He didn't know much about living in rural areas, which led Tau to bring him here. Antonio listened, his attention captured. The theme was starting over again. Someone who was completely unhappy with his life was going to move somewhere random just to start over again.

He's thought of doing it many times before. Leaving Chicago and going to a rural area. In reality he could never leave without worrying. It was like being able to live through his writing. For once be able to live in another person's shoes. He wondered if he would enjoy it more than what he was doing now. He didn't mind his career. He loved it, it was just the slowness of the days and the worries of life in general that made him worry sometimes.

"That sounds like a great story in the making. I'd love to read it when it gets published."

"I'll have to get a draft of a few chapters to my editor sometime next week to see if he'll approve of it." He was excited though. He felt like this story could be the one that makes it all the way to the end. His editor also had the second word to whether his story would be published or not. That was the second barrier even if he did like the theme. If he didn't approve, he would be worried bringing it to the publisher.

He chuckle. "Your eyes sparkles whenever you talk about something you like, Matthew. It's like my sweet Lovi when he's cooking Italian food." Sighing happily. "Tau has it too."

He walked over after finished cleaning. "Do I?" He questioned.

"Si! Earlier when you were teaching me."

He hummed. "I've never realized..."

Antonio got up. "I'll go get the blankets. Can you guys move the furniture around?"

Tau nodded. He headed to the living room moving the furniture towards the wall to allow an open space on the rug. "Ana~ It's like a sleepover in the movies Mei would watch."

"Your cousin?" Matthew asked. From earlier that day, Tau, much like his own family, had a lot of cousins and a sibling.

"Yea, she always loved those chick flicks... Except I feel like she's trolling us sometimes."

"How so?" He pushed the coffee table next to the sofa.

"She said it was a chick flick and it started as a girl's sleepover until half way through the people started getting killed one by one by a psychopath that got into the house. It was more gory than it needed to be..."

"Not a fan of horrors?"

"No, I love them, especially the extremely gory ones, I think I was more concerned about my cousins using me as a shield from the movie."

He chuckled. "So that's why she's a troll."

Once Antonio gave them the blankets, he bid them good night as he went to bed. They set up the larger blanket on the ground. Matthew went to change into his other clothes before returning back to the Asian laying down on his side on his phone.

He walked over to his side sitting down. "Your sister?"

He looked over. "Yea, she's making sure I'm still alive. She called a few times, but my phone was on silent."

Matthew can only imagine how mad she may be on the other side. He blinked when the Thai's face paled. "Tau?"

"Can you call Lien for me?"

Now it was his turn to pale slightly. "Wouldn't she be madder if you don't call her?"

"Which is why you're calling her." He clicked the call button and tossed the phone to him. "I'm going to the bathroom!" He ran off before Matthew could say anything.

"TAU!" He physically froze when he heard her yell. He blinked when she heard her yell in a different language. He didn't understand, but he had a feeling, he didn't want to know. She continued on.

"L-Lien?" His voice shaky.

Her yelling ended as a long pause followed. "...who is this?"

"It's Matthew."

She sighed. "Where's Tau?"

"In the bathroom..." Which technically wasn't a lie since he ran right after calling. There was another silence. "Umm Lien, I'm sorry if you needed him for something... It was a last minute idea and we kind of just went with it..."

"Hm? No it's nothing like that. I'm just mad he didn't call back until now. He's free to do what he wants as long as he's safe. Make sure to tell him that he needs to be back at the hotel tomorrow night and pack for the next day's flight. It's at nine in the morning so we'll have to leave the early."

"Sure, I'll let him know."

"Thanks." She hung up.

Matthew looked up noticing Tau by the door, waving. He frowned a bit. "Chicken."

He chuckled. "I know, I left you with a very angry woman on the other line. Do you blame me?"

"I guess not... I'm just glad I didn't know what she was saying at the beginning..."

He sat down in front of him again. "It's not something anyone should hear..." He took back his phone, looking at it when it vibrated, notifying a message.

He didn't think it was possible, but the expression that Tau held seemed to hold a slight anger in his eyes. A small frown as his eyes narrowed slightly. He stared at his phone before looking up blinking. "Are you okay, Tau?"

He smiled again. It looked similar to what he had given to Al. A bit forced. "Yea..." Quick and short.

Matthew looked worried. Unsure if he should ask or not. He was about to say something when he was stopped.

His smiled returned putting a finger up to his lips. "Ana~ Don't worry. Life always gives you hardships, it's just how you deal with it." He reached over patting his head. "You don't have to worry about this, it's just something silly and not really worth any time to worry."

He looked up to the Thai, his smile reassured him. But something still clutched at him, concern that something could cause the Thai's smile to disappear like that. He nodded for the time being and returned the smile. "Alright, but you can always talk to me, you know."

For a brief moment, he looked a bit shocked. His eyes widen slightly, but kept his gaze on the blond. He smiled softly. "Thank you, Matthew."

He blushed lightly, but returned the smile. "You're welcome."


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back! Well not for long, I'll be busy with end of the year school finals and stuff, but I am still working on the editing of the story. The current edited chapters are up on AO3, if you wanted to check them out. (I didn't get far...and I'll update fanfiction once I get all the chapters edited) Just didn't realized this semester was going to be so hard. Anyways I wanted to thank cruelistnightmare and greekkittyartemis! I was really happy to read your reviews! I'm glad you guys enjoy Thailand and the pairing. And without further ado, Chapter 9!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz owns it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

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Chapter 9

There was a sudden rush of cold air before the sound of a door opening and closing. Matthew rubbed his eyes tiredly. Squinting in attempts to see, he looked around through blurred vision. His hands wandered aimlessly for his glasses before finding them by his pillow. Looking through clearer vision, his eyes wandered the room adjusting to the dark.

Blinking, Matthew stared at the missing body next to his. He rubbed his eyes a bit before getting up and looking around. "Tau?" No answer. It was about five in the morning according to his phone's time. _What would he be doing up at this time anyways?_ He walked out towards the door, opening it gently. Turning his head side to side for any sign of the Asian, but there wasn't any sign of life. It could have been Antonio or Lovino now that he thought about it.

The previous night storm has passed and left the sky cleared of any clouds. It was getting close towards dawn, but the sky was still covered in stars. Matthew smiled brightly seeing the stars clearly without any light pollution. It only took a few moments before he felt a shiver. It was probably best to put on warmer clothing if he wanted to watch any longer. He headed back inside, closing the door as gently as he opened it. _Maybe it wasn't him._

It didn't really leave an answer of where he was though. He checked the bathroom to see if he happened to be there. Unfortunately, he wasn't. He went back to their _bed_ in the living room and sat back down on his side. Looking over, he noticed the Asian's phone sitting on the pillow, but the glasses were gone. Matthew looked towards the door again to where their shoes originally laid. His shoes were gone as well. _So it was him... why didn't I check that sooner? _He laid down again, wondering. He'll probably return back whenever he's done whatever he's doing.

Though his mind didn't allow for him to go back to bed now being fully awake. There were still a lot of things Matthew didn't know about Tau despite his open and cheerful demeanor. He wondered what the Asian usually do on his days. Train all day? Explore like he has yesterday? Or a mixture of both. A smile appeared as he thought about Tau and Lien attempting to train for the day only for him to talk her out of training. His sheepish smile as he gets caught by Lien half way through getting out of it. He chuckled softly. _Seems like something he would do._

In the end, he was unable to fall asleep for the last hour when Tau returned into the house around six, taking his shoes off. Panting could be heard from the Thai as he walked over noticing the Canadian sitting there. "Ana? You're up early." He spoke patting his forehead with his forearm.

"I usually wake up around this time to go to the café..."

Tau smiled. "I usually run early in the morning for training. It's harder in the city so I don't bother with it as much and go to the hotel's gym." He headed over, sitting down in front of him. "So what's the plan?"

"Don't you have to get back to the hotel before Lien kills you?"

He looked away sheepishly, scratching his head. "Ana... I should, but I'm sure it'll be fine. I still have today free. She'll call again if I need to get back quickly." He grinned, reassuring him. "But, what do _you_ want to do?"

The Canadian looked around the house. "I kinda just want to write... Being here makes me feel like I've been transported into my book. It's a bit surreal to be honest."

"Then write."

The two turned their heads towards the Italian's voice. Lovino stood before them with folded arms. "Can't help it if it's instincts, strike it while the iron's hot."

Behind him stood the taller Spaniard, smiling cheerfully. "Si, the porch is very quiet during this time. And you'll have a few hours before students and family comes. It'll be a perfect time to write."

Matthew looked at them. "Are you sure?"

Tau placed his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry; I'll help them out with anything."

Lovino snorted. "Oh great, a duo of idiots doing farm work... that'll end well..." He headed into the kitchen.

Antonio smiled. "Then can you help move some of the animals outside? It's supposed to be nice today."

The two agreed on the tasks, discussing to see which would be best to do early in the morning compared to later. Tau borrowed some of Antonio's clothes to work in. They headed out towards the shed that held the sheep. Cheerfully talking despite the early hour.

Matthew watched before cleaning up their sleeping area, folding up each blanket and setting it on the couch. "Lovino, where do you want the blankets?"

He looked over annoyed before returning back to his eggs on the pan. "Just leave them on there and go write."

He nodded as he left them there. Watching the Italian, he felt uncomfortable that he was free to go and write without a need to contribute. "Do you need help with cooking?"

"It's just breakfast... now go write damn it before I cook you too."

Matthew left hastily taking his notebook and jacket with him. He sat outside on the porch sighing a bit. Guilt poked at him. He was just sitting here writing while everyone was doing something. They didn't seem to care as they went on minding their own business to allow him to work.

He looked down at his notes, his hands shook a bit. Goosebumps grew on his arms as he slipped on his jacket. It didn't help his hands, but he assumed it was probably from excitement. It's been a while since he felt like this. A smile appeared as he started writing in his notebook.

Using the scenery around and the stillness in the day, he wrote using the porch light as his task lighting while the sun slowly approaching the horizon. The words started to become scribbles as he tried to catch up to his mind. As quickly as he could, the words flowed through his pencil. Word after word, sentences filled the page and soon filled up the next few. Details were added as he often went back to write in tiny text of details he may have forgotten or wanted to add later.

This continued on, he did pause for a second to watch the sun rise up the horizon before continuing on, making a note in the margins to add the first sun rise the character would experience. Listening to his surroundings, he continued adding mental notes here and there before the margins were filled of things he would have to add in. These were the moments, he desperately wished he had his laptop.

"Ana~ Did you finish writing your book? It looks filled enough."

"If it was that easy to finish a book, anyone would be able to do it." Replying back to the Asian's joke.

Matthew looked up at the smiling Thai, standing by him, peering at his notebook. He was covered in dirt and grime, his white shirt stained light brown. He set a plate of food down on the bench as he leaned against the wall, wiping some of the sweat off his forehead. Matthew looked down at the food. "Oh, thank you."

"We didn't want to bother you since you were so focused."

"Sorry, I guess I got lost in writing..."

He waved his hand, excusing the apology. "Don't worry, I'm glad you're finally writing without a care."

Matthew's brow raised. "Writing without a care?"

"It's like me and boxing. I just do it for fun, but it doesn't mean I'm not competitive. When you love something to the point that you're doing it without a care of what's going on in the world." He explained before pulling out the gloves from his back pocket and putting it on again. "I've seen you write at the café before, it didn't look like this. Plus your eyes were almost twinkling with excitement as your wrote."

He blushed lightly at the compliment. "Thanks?" He watched him put the gloves back on. "Are you going back out to work?"

"Yea, Lovino wants me and Antonio to move the heavier items in the shed."

"Do you need any help?"

"Don't worry about it. Just keep writing until your heart's content." Walking off the porch and towards the couple in front of the shed. Lovino yelled at him a bit as the Thai smiled, giving him an excuse before proceeding into the shed.

The Canadian watched them as he ate his breakfast. The Thai and Spaniard carried a few things out of the shed before walking back in to continue the process. He could hear the Italian yell out a few things on where he wanted items. He was amazed at the strength the two held. They picked up the machinery with ease carrying it from one area to another as instructed by the Italian.

Unlike his older brother, who was practically born with super strength, as he likes to put it. He never had a good amount of upper body strength. Enough to lift slightly heavier items, but he would definitely feel it in his biceps by the following day. He played ice hockey during his college years and basketball in high school, while being on a community ice hockey team. Half way through college, he did have to drop sports completely as he started to focus in on his passion of writing (and the amount of writing he had to write would haunt him til this day). Whatever strength he did attain during those sports didn't seem like it stayed with him.

After breakfast, he continued on writing. His high momentum finally leveled out as his writing became clearer. He spent most of the time writing an outline instead as his level of writing didn't compete with what he had written earlier. After an hour of editing and outlining, he put down his pencil and looked around for Tau. He went to put his things into the house before walking around to look for him.

He was surprised that he blocked out all the noises that were happening around him. The once quiet farm was filled with noise. Little kids ran around as the teachers spoke about the animals. Lovino was with a group talking about the farm they ran. He seemed to notice him as he pointed towards the barn with his head and continued talking, leading the group towards the fields.

Matthew nodded back and headed towards the barn running into the Asian when he attempted to enter the building. He closed his eyes, falling back from momentum, waiting for the impact of the ground. It never came as he was pulled forward by a hand, falling into the Thai's chest. When he had finally stopped moving, he opened his eyes again looking at the Asian.

"Ana, that would have been bad..." He stood the Canadian up right.

"T-thanks…" Staring at the Asian, still a bit dazed.

He checked to ensure he was fine, before smiling again. "So, why were you in a rush?"

"Oh, well I was looking for you." The Asian tilted his head, curious. "Just wondering what you were doing…"

"We just finished rearranging everything in the shed." He grinned pulling the Canadian into the shed.

His violet eyes wandered around the room noticing the different tools lined up along the wall or on the shelves. A variety of tools all worn down from constant use hung from the walls. Below them was some of the machinery that the two had carried out before.

The Spaniard waved ecstatically, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Were you able to finish writing, Matthew?"

"For the most part. Thank you again Antonio."

"No problem. I'm glad the farm was helpful to you. I'll catch up with you two when you get back, si?"

Matthew gave him a confused look as Tau waved to the retreating man. Turning his head towards Tau, he questioned. "What did he mean by when we get back?"

"Ana, he told me about a good hiking trail we should go to before leaving the area."

Matthew smiled at the sound of being in nature again especially after years of living in the city. He would love to be under trees and enjoy the scenery once again. "Are we going now?"

"If you want to, we can." Matthew nodded almost giddy causing the Thai to laugh. "Alright, let me get the keys and we'll head there. He said it's a quick drive."

The two left quickly after Tau changed and jumped in for a quick shower. The bike sped out of the farm and towards the location. The scenery ran by him quickly as Matthew watched it change from flat lands to trees. He couldn't help but smile. The sun shone bright down on them despite the chilly weather and the day was nice compared to yesterday's rain.

The bike finally slowed down as they entering a clearing. There were a few places you could park along with park benches and grills scattered. He can imagine how packed it would be during Independence Day.

"So where are we?" The Canadian got off removing his helmet. He looked intrigued as his eyes observed the area. He was surprised that something like this was in the state.

"I don't know the name, but he said it'll be a nice hike. I'm sure it's nothing like Canada and their mountainous region though." Tau spoke as he put the helmets back into the compartment.

He laughed a bit. "Do you think all of Canada is mountainous?"

He hummed happily. "I'm sure it's more than Thailand ever will be."

"Well that isn't fair, Thailand is a smaller country than Canada."

"Yes, and so is Nepal, yet it holds the tallest mountain on Earth."

He chuckled, rolling his eyes a bit. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"No idea. Something about mountains..." He headed towards the entrance of the hiking area. "But that doesn't matter, let's go, shall we?"

The blonde only smiled, shaking his head. "Alright." He found it best to go along with the Asian was the best way to not get swept away.


	10. Chapter 10

Guess who procrastinated and did nothing this week? THIS WRITER! Okay, it was kinda bad, but hey at least I got a chapter out of it? Anyways, new chapter for you guys, thank you so much for the reviews! Anyways there was some questions asked by AphHetaliaLover and just in case anyone else had these questions, I'll answer them here as well.

_How many chapters will there be?_ I have no idea. The story was originally supposed to be a one-shot, then converted to 20 chapters, then 30, then unknown. Essentially, the story kept changing as I was writing the story out. (Fun fact: Tau and Matthew wasn't even supposed to stay at Antonio and Lovino's farm for the storm) So I don't know how many chapters there will be as of now.

_Will this story have a happy ending?_ I won't answer this because I want the readers to experience the story. (also feel it may be a bit of a spoiler alert kinda)

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz owns it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 10

The two followed the trail often pointing out random things along the way. The trees above shaded parts of the path as they walked. The route was filled with different species of trees and animals. Matthew would point out the differences between trees and every so often a plant that have yet to succumb to the colder weather. Tau watched, intrigued with the vast majority of species that one location could hold. He commented on them, majority of the plants were new to him then attempted to run off the trail to get a closer look. Matthew had to stop him on multiple occasions. There was a possibility that the areas around the trail belonged to someone as houses could be seen in the distance. The last thing they needed was an angry someone chasing after them.

"Ana, so this is a maple tree…" Tau placed his hand on the trunk, feeling the rough bark. He ran his hand over to feel the rugged cracks within it. He turned to Matthew. "They are very beautiful."

Matthew walked over picking up one of the red leaves, giving it to him. "This is one of it's leaves. It's also the national symbol of Canada."

He held the leaf, inspecting it. "I thought it looked familiar. It's on the Canadian flag, isn't it?" The blonde nodded. He chuckled. "I should've known. Your favorite tree happens to be the symbol of your country."

His cheeks redden from embarrassment. He really did love Canada. It is his native country. Sooner or later, he'll want to settle back there. "Well it creates maple syrup which associates with pancakes."

"Your favorite food?"

He nodded. "I'm a bit obsessed according to Al." That was an understandment. He was _obsessed_ with pancakes and he knew it himself.

"You should learn bánh xèo. It's Vietnamese pancakes. You can't exactly put maple syrup on it, but at least you can eat it for dinner or lunch. There's also ขนมถังแตก, Thai pancakes, well one kind of them. It's one of a few different pancakes we have as street food you can find. I haven't tried cooking it, but it's really good."

"Can you put maple syrup on it?" He asked intrigued about the food.

"Ana… I've never tried… They're already sweet as they are if my memory's correct. But I'm getting a sense that you're more into maple syrup then the actual pancakes…"

Matthew chuckled. "Maybe a little… Anyways back to nature. What kind of plants do you have back home?"

"Well it's a tropical weather, but I guess it depends on where you live as well. There are forests here and there, but it's very hard when you live in the city."

The Canadian looked towards him. "You live in the city too?"

"Yes, the capital. But I live with my grandmother up north half of them time. That's usually when I'm surrounded by trees." He smiled happily. "If you're ever in Thailand, I'll bring you there to meet a good friend of mine. You would get along with him."

"Alright, as long as I get to return the favor and show you Canada."

He chuckled. "I won't freeze to death right?"

"Oh come on, Canada isn't that cold!" Well the southern part of it wasn't. He's been to the north before and it's definitely something else.

"I don't know... I've seen pictures of Canadians popping out of the snow in their boxers."

Matthew couldn't help, but laugh at the Thai's statement. "Didn't you know? That's how we're born. Heavier snow means more babies and lighter snow means less. That person was probably reenacting birth."

He seemed to pick up on the blonde's joke, laughing along with him. "It must be interesting during a blizzard. Small babies will pop their heads above the snow everywhere."

Matthew grinned. "Well, it's a baby shower after all."

They continued on following the winding route beneath the towering trees above them. Some of the trees were bare at this point in the season, leaving a colorful covered road of red, yellow, orange and brown. Much like the assortment of colors, the two continued their random conversation. It became a get to know me test between each other, firing away any questions that came to mind.

"Matthew, if you could be anything else but a writer what would you be?"

He blinked at the question before looking up towards the canopies, thinking. "I guess a Hockey player or an environmentalist."

"Tree hugger..."

"Hey!" He lightly punched the Thai's arm. "The environment's important, you know."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Yes, yes, oh mighty baby whom sprouted from the snow." Matthew laughed at his comment. "Though all three of those careers seem to be vastly different from one another, so I was a bit surprised."

"Well what about you then? What would you do if you couldn't be a boxer?"

"Well actually back home, I compete in Muay Thai rather than boxing, but that'll be cheating if I chose that. I suppose if I could be neither of those, I'd probably be working in the government or something."

Confused, the Canadian looked over. "Muay Thai?"

He hummed happily. "Yea, it's Thailand's national sport. Like American football here. Err... well I suppose Americans just call it football."

He nodded. "Is Muay Thai like boxing?"

"Kind of... though it involves full body combat rather than just your hands."

He watched the Thai explain the sport, using his hands to exaggerate some of it. Matthew couldn't help, but laugh at his jokes. Though inside, it made him worry of the injuries that would occur with a full on fight. Much like the first time he saw him in the boxing ring, thinking of him fighting again made him concern. _Why is fighting a thing to be enjoyed?_

Tau had noticed the Canadian's silence when his eyes lowered towards the ground. He reached over, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Ana~ Don't worry, it's just for fun. None of the fights ever become that dangerous. It's all amateur and I know most of the people I'm up against."

He looked towards those golden eyes. They were always warm and comforting like nothing could go wrong. "Oh, what would you do if you were in the government?" The Thai muttered something low and inaudible. Matthew blinked unsure about what just happened. For a split second the warmth in his eyes disappeared, replaced with one his sister often had. "What was that?"

He had closed his eyes, humming. "Oh, probably become a tree hugger of a government official." He joked, giving the Canadian a warm smile. "Then I'll hire you to help me with environmental work."

Matthew returned the smile. _It was probably nothing_. He assumed before playing along with his joke. "That is if I even decide to be that."

"I'll still hire you regardless cause you'll still care about the environment no matter what career you were in."

"Why do I get the feeling you'll slack off and leave the work to me while you wander off?"

He chuckled. "Oops, you've got me."

They stopped at a bridge, looking down at the running water below. The water was clear and free from any trash. The noise of running water filled the chilled, crisp air. Tau looked around, curious before smiling as he went to the edge of the bridge and start to climb down the side of the hill, towards the water.

Matthew gripped the railings and leaned over to look at him. "Tau, where are you going?"

He returned with a grin. "Ana~ Come on, no one can own the creek. Besides, it's prettier if you look closer than from afar."

He smiled at the Asian's reason, but it made enough sense. "Alright, I'm coming." He followed after, carefully navigated down the hill towards the water below. The soil was still damp from yesterday's rain. He grabbed onto the trunks of the trees for support as he trek down.

Matthew's smile widen as he watched the water up close. It was just as clear as he had noticed from above. The sunlight made the rippling water almost sparkle as it ran by. The two ended up sitting on one of the rocks watching the water make it's course down. It was peaceful and silent, with few people crossing the bridge.

"Shall we continue our 20 questions?" He broke the silence.

"You mean 100 questions. But alright." Matthew became silent as he thought of a good question to ask. He smiled a bit when he thought of something "What's the weirdest pet you've ever had?"

"Weirdest? Ana, I think my pet was very cute rather than weird. Though I doubt you'll believe I had a pet like that."

Matthew grinned. "Well I'm sure you won't believe what I had either."

"Oh?" Noticing the challenge. "Well alright then. I have an elephant named Toto."

Matthew blinked. "An elephant? Were you in the circus?"

Tau gasped horrified. "I'm not cruel... or flexible enough to be in one. Besides, Toto is wild compared to what they do there." Matthew apologized for his insincerity, but Tau didn't mind too much as he continued the story. "We had a bad monsoon season a few years ago and the poor elephant got separated from the rest of the herd."

"I'm sorry to hear, is he alright?"

Tau's expression brightens again. "Ana~ Of course, turns out the herd was a part of the sanctuary nearby grandmother's house so Toto often drops by to say hi."

Matthew smiled, amused at how quickly the Asian's expression could change in a second. "That's good, at least he's close by."

"He's the cutest little thing. One time he was visiting during Christmas time and ate the Christmas tree." Matthew's brow raised, unsure if that was something someone should be proud of, but the Thai continued. "He was so tiny during that time and yet he ate the entire thing. It was quite a sight to see. Though the family was a bit upset that the one time they decorated the tree, it was eaten by an elephant... But it was so cute that I couldn't stop him. We ended up searching around outside for more trees to feed him."

Matthew chuckled at the Asian's antics. "You sound like a doting father, Tau."

"Do I? Lien mentioned that too. How about your weird pet?"

"Well my family enjoys traveling a lot. We would travel every summer during our summer break. I often travelled with papa while Al travelled with mom since they both couldn't take off work at the same time. Also our preference towards where we wanted to go was quite different as well."

"Let me guess, you went into nature on these travels?"

"Of course." He grinned. "Al and mom went to different cities when they went, but I've always enjoyed nature so papa took me there instead. One time, we headed up towards the northern part of Canada just to experience it once. We were going to spend a day or two there before heading down towards Alaska to meet up with Al and mom."

"Sounds cold."

He agreed, slightly shivering at the thought of feeling numb all over. "It was definitely something. I'll have to think twice about before traveling there again. But we ran into a baby polar bear while we were there. It was stuck on a piece of ice floating away. I guess my instincts jumped in and I ended up literally jumping onto the piece trying to save it."

"Super Matthew to the rescue."

He blushed a bit embarrassed, looking sheepish. "Err... well I didn't realized how heavy a polar bear cub was until I tried to save it. I ended up frightening it when I jumped and got scratched on the leg when it held on"

"I'm surprised you're alive, must be because you were both born from the snow. So how did you get back to land?"

Matthew smiled. "Papa had an ice axe and we were able to attached it to the piece of ice while he pulled it in."

The Asian reached over patting the Canadian on the shoulder. "See? Regardless of what you'll be. You'll always care about the environment. I'm sure the bear was grateful."

He nodded before he became solemn "Yea, but we found out why it was wandering around by itself." His darken eyes cast down towards the ground. "...his mother was most likely killed from some hunters. The cub was limping when it got back to land and ran off before we could check. He showed up when we were trying out ice fishing and ate two of our fishes. It was always by itself, never with anyone else. We tried to help the best we could, providing food when it was close."

The Thai's cheerful voice became solemn as well. "But you had to leave eventually... didn't you?"

There was a small nod as his gaze locked onto the water. "Yea, it stayed far away, but close enough when we were outside. It only came close for food. We called one of the animal protection agencies to help and brought him to a zoo to help him recover. The best location happened to be the city where I was living at the time, so it worked out."

"Were you able to visit him?"

"Yea, I was able to name him too, but I can't seem to remember the name... Kumatachi? Kuma...jino? No..." Matthew closed his eyes as his brows furrowed thinking. "Kumajirou? Maybe that was it... But then again whenever I called him, he would look at me confused. Almost like he was saying 'who?'"

He laughed. "Sounds like you two couldn't remember each other."

He huffed. "But he always came to me whenever I was there. The people there allowed me to be close to him since I was the only one he wouldn't bite at first. When he got bigger, he would often tackle me down when I held a fish and lick my cheek to thank me."

Tau's smiled gently, engrossed into the story. "To be able to befriend a polar bear, that's not exactly something anyone can say. I'm glad you two were able to meet each other. Sounds like you loved each other dearly."

"Once he was older, we had to send him back into the wild... I remembered seeing those beady eyes look at me when I gave him his last fish. He gave me one last lick on the cheek… and ran off almost like he was expecting me to come with when he turned around." Silence held the air between the two. Neither knowing what to say next. The only noise between them was the running river.

Moments passed before Tau spoke. Even then, there was hesitation. "Do you miss him?"

"Of course," he paused. His eyes glued towards the leaves on the ground. "He was like a little brother to me. Always finding ways for me to give him one more piece of fish. He was my best friend in those few years." He spoke fondly as his smile sadden. "But he's back where he belongs and that's the best thing for him."

"Well I know for one thing… I'm sure he'll always remember you as the human who saved him. He will be forever grateful for that."


	11. Chapter 11

I'm back! Sorta, end of the school year was hectic and wasn't able to write. Then summer happened and been trying to recover from my school's mental torture. But side story, I didn't like how I started the chapter so I did re-write it a few times, but I think this is the best it can be for now. Originally this was supposed to be released a month earlier (on Canada Day whoops...), but I couldn't find a way to end the chapter. And then essentially a few days ago I've realized that it ended fine as it was, so you guys now have a very late new chapter! (this is why I really need a beta-reader...) Sorry about the wait and thank you to all those who review! I really do appreciate them and enjoy reading each one! Also not sure why horizontal lines breaks aren't showing up...

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 11

The birds chirped along with gentle rustle of the trees. The sounds of the river added to nature's sounds mixed in with murmurs of people crossing the bridge. As their conversation dropped off naturally, they continued admiring the scenery around them.

The silence was finally broken when Tau got up, stretching a bit before brushing any dirt off his pants. "Ana, we should head back soon. It's probably best not to drive at night. I don't know the country well enough to be able to navigate at night."

With a nod, Matthew got up as well. "Do you know the way back, Tau?"

He mused, before smiling. "Probably, but if we do get lost. I'll just pull out the GPS."

Matthew blinked, staring him down. "GPS? Wait... you had a GPS this whole time?!"

Tau chuckled, putting his hands up in surrender. "Ana~ It was only if we got really lost. Lien made sure I pack one along in case if that had occurred."

"So you _did_ know where you were going this entire time!"

"Of course not. I only knew the direction. I left good faith on everything else on where we would end up."

His face fell flat. "I can't tell if that's amazing or incredibly reckless..."

With an amused expression, he let out a low chuckle. "Let's leave it as somewhere in between." Bowing slightly as he gestured his hand up the hill. "Now then, shall we?"

With a chuckle, Matthew started up the hill using the side of the bridge and some trees to navigate back up the hill. It was steeper than he had expected leaving him wondering how it was possible they had gotten down without tumbling in the first place. Tau was a few steps behind him, keeping an eye on the younger male, while trekking up slowly himself.

"Matthew, be careful, there were some slippery rock when I wen-" His eyes widen when the blonde slipped backwards towards him. He shifted a few steps to ensure he could catch him.

Matthew fell backwards, unable to grab onto the tree trunks as they slipped through his hands. Within a few seconds, he crashed into Tau as the Asian's arms wrapped around him.

Tau let out a grunt once he hit one of the tree trunks, stopping the two from falling towards the bottom, where the rocks laid.

Matthew was a bit shaken before turning around frantically, looking at Tau. "Tau! Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't that be my question?" He moved away from the tree, slowly.

"I'm fine, thanks to you. But you're not injured right?" He spoke softly. He wanted to check, but the Thai stopped him.

He shook his head. "I'm fine, do not worry, Matthew. Come on, let's head back before another accident happens." He reached forwards patting the blonde's hair. "Besides, I'd be upset if something had happen to you when I was able to prevent it." Matthew looked into his golden eyes. "Also, I'm sure your brother would chase me down all the way to Thailand with a knife just to skin me alive."

Matthew chuckled. "I'll make sure he won't."

* * *

Tau drove them back towards Antonio's farm during the early part of the afternoon. The farm was packed filled with kids running around. Screams and laughter filled the air as their excitement couldn't be contained by any of the parents or teachers accompanying them. The students were ecstatic to see animals, watching from the fence as some of the helpers and volunteers spoke about them while showing them around the farm.

Antonio smiled widely, waving to Tau and Matthew as he walked over. "¡Hola! How was the hike?"

"It was great, thank you for mentioning the place." Matthew responded as he got off the bike. "It's really peaceful there."

He nodded in agreement. "The place is beautiful during any season, but it's best to see it during the fall."

"If that's the case, I'll have to find my way back here during the fall again." Tau spoke, leaning back. He stayed on the bike, looking towards Matthew.

"I'll be right back soon, Tau." Matthew maneuvered through the crowd of students towards the house. There, Romano was speaking with some of the adults about the program. He looked over seeing Matthew and excused himself.

"How was the wilderness? Looks like neither of you were eaten…"

He let out an awkward laugh, unsure if he was joking or not. "No… we didn't, but we did climb down to the river though."

He raised a brow. "Did you? The hill should be slippery especially after yesterday's rainstorm. Are you two okay?"

"Yea, Tau caught me before I fell down to the rocks."

A grin appeared. "Seems like you're a lot tougher than I give you credit for."

He returned the compliment with a smile. "Romano, can you open the door, I need to get my bag."

"Sure thing, are you leaving so soon?" He opened the door allowing the Canadian in.

"Yea, Tau has a plane to catch tomorrow morning and he's a bit worried driving in the dark when we don't know the area that well."

He smirked slightly. "So he's not all brawn and no brain after all."

Matthew picked up his bag, checking to make sure everything was there before grabbing anything Tau might have forgotten. "You should give him some credit. I'm sure there's some type of strategizing to boxing…"

"Kind of hard when all the brawn I've met in my life were all bastards..." Muttering bitterly as he locked the door again. He looked towards the others chattering away before looking forward towards Matthew. "Take care of yourself, Matthew."

Matthew blinked at the foul-mouthed Italian before smiling. "You too Lovino, I hope you and Antonio will always be happy together."

That caught Lovino off guard as he blushed. "S-Shut up! Being with him is a chore most of the time. Having to watch over his ass." Matthew smiled, watching him spout out small insults at his boyfriend. He was sure, that he didn't meant a single word of it. Romano scratched his head, brushing the embarrassment off. "Come on, I'll follow you out to your idiot too." He strode off of the porch.

Matthew stared, confused. "My idiot?" But he followed after him, unable to ask before they got to them.

"Oh! Lovino, you look like a cute little tomato." The Spaniard teased him.

"Shut up!" Leaving him still blushing lightly, he crossed his arms, looking away from him.

Matthew placed the bag into the compartment before Tau handed him his helmet again.

Antonio smiled at the two. "Good luck in your match this Wednesday." He looked towards Tau before turning to Matthew. "Please do come again if you ever need a burst of inspiration, Matthew. And you too Tau, if you're ever in the country again." He reached out, shaking both of their hands.

Matthew nodded. "Of course, thank you so much for letting us stay over."

"We should've charged you for it, but I guessed when your book releases, that can be your payment instead." Lovino spoke.

Matthew looked at them, a bit shocked.

Antonio agreed. "¡Si! We would love to read it when it's out."

Matthew blushed before smiling happily, overjoyed. "Of course! I'll make sure to send one out, first class." He couldn't stop smiling, for once, someone wanted to read his stories and looked forward to it. It was something he hasn't felt in a long while.

Lovino and Antonio, returned the smile to the happy Canadian. Tau watched over them, smiling at the three of them. "I'm sure it'll be great once it's done."

"Hurry up and get going before the sun sets and you drive in circles." Lovino spoke. "Last thing we need is this idiot being late for his plane."

"I think Lien would track me down and kill me before that could happen."

The four said their goodbyes before Tau kicked the kickstand and headed out of the farm, speeding towards Chicago. Antonio waved as they left, sighing happily.

"They're both idiots, if you ask me." Lovino spoke, calmly. "I wonder if they'll figure it out."

He chuckled. "I'm sure they will eventually. Besides they just met a few days ago. You can't expect things to happen overnight. Love may not have a time, but maybe sooner for them?"

He hummed, watching the motorcycle disappear in the distance. "Well we could also be speculating too much..." He looked down. "Distance can be straining..." He turned around before Antonio could answer. "Let's get back to work. I think some of the new workers are drowning in kids."

* * *

The ride was long as Matthew watched the scenery reverse itself from yesterday. Despite the high sun above, the cold wind still chilled him as he held onto Tau. He could only imagine how cold Tau must be as he took in most of the wind compared to him. But there was no response from him as he drove the two hour long drive back towards Chicago.

The bike eventually stopped in front of Matthew's apartment. It felt almost too soon for him. Tomorrow, Tau would be heading off to Las Vegas while he's stuck here without his shenanigans. No, for him it was time to get pieces of his story together and ready for his editor. Matthew will be ready this time for his editor's critical analyses, but he did often worry over the fact if his editor was only looking to get paid. Money was always important to him much like breathing was essential to living.

Matthew got off the bike removing the helmet before looking at Tau once more. He wasn't ready to say goodbye. But he knew his friend was probably busy with packing as soon as he got back. "Thank you Tau. For everything you've done for me these last couple of days. I really do appreciate it."

Tau took his own helmet off and smiled as warmly as he always had. "No problem. I'm glad I was able to help you in any way I could."

Matthew eyes looked down at the ground. The feeling of loneliness tugged at him again. After not being with anyone for a while, it was nice to have someone to talk to again. When college ended and he made the decision to come to America to work, he hadn't realized how lonely it would become. Both Francis and Al had ended in New York for their careers. He followed Arthur to Chicago due to similar career paths. But the Brit wasn't the most welcoming person in the world. With his success, he was often busy with his own work. Every so often, he would stop by to check up, but it was only for a short while. (He was positive his family asked him to as well.) Regardless, the meeting would be a short talk, often about what was happening in his life and how his work was going. It was an hour long tea, but the conversation felt like it would stretch on with agony compared to the actual hour.

He looked up to the tan skinned man again. "Tau?" Gaining his attention, who was about to put his helmet back on. "Do you want to come in?" The sudden question left the man staring. "I know you have to pack for tomorrow but I wanted thank you. And we haven't eaten in a while so…"

"Sure I don't mind, gives me a reason to procrastinate a little longer." The Thai drove his bike into one of the lot before heading in with the blonde. "You'll have to tell me more about your story then. I hope that's fine?"

With a nod, Matthew let him into his apartment and straight to the kitchen. "Since you made me pad thai the other time, I thought I'll make you some pancakes with proper maple syrup."

"Proper maple syrup?" He looked amused, leaning against the wall. "You didn't enjoy the diner's syrup? Liz is going to get mad if she heard you."

"Oh hush, the syrup wasn't the real kind anyways. It was made with corn syrup most likely and probably mixed with a percentage of maple if any."

He chuckled lightly. "It shocks and surprises me how much you know about this."

He grinned as he started making the pancake batter. "It's not real maple syrup unless it's Canadian maple syrup. As my dad always said, some American brand maple syrup is a good substitute, but you don't know the real thing unless you've tried it."

"Ana~ so that's why you frowned a bit when you looked at the bottle."

"I don't want you leaving without trying the real thing." He placed the mixing bowl down before grabbing a tan jug in one of the cabinets, he poured a little into a sauce cup pushing it towards Tau. "Here try some."

"If it's good enough I might just fall in love and move to Canada."

"Only if you can handle the cold and hockey."

Tau smiled before putting a finger in and tasting the syrup. His eyes lit up like a child's. "So this is Canadian syrup. I might have to convince Lien to stop by Canada one day then."

He laughed. "I told you." He smiled proudly to himself. Regardless of his dual citizenship, he always referred himself to Canadians rather than his brother who preferred his American citizenship. He started to pour the batter into a frying pan.

Tau stood by him, observing the pan. "So how is your story coming along?"

" I think I'll re-write the first chapter. Make him start off as he wandered into the place without knowing the location. Like something was calling him towards it." He spoke as he watched the pancake. The pancake slowly rising from the batter.

"So you considered that but not jumping out of a plane?"

"No one would live, Tau!"

"He would if he had a parachute. It'll be shocking for the town to see someone jumping out of a plane. The town will never forget him."

Chuckling at his reasoning, somehow he wasn't shocked at it though. He was impulsive in a good way. "Well at least it's a bit more spontaneous than before, don't you think?" With a nod, Matthew continued. "I had to rethink the main character. I was thinking more calculated yet he took a leap of faith going to this unknown location to start over."

"Everyone needs a bit of it every so often. But that's only if you want to do that. It is your story, remember?"

"But a good idea isn't one to throw away."

"Then what do you plan to do with this new calculated character of yours?"

He flipped the pancake skillfully catching it back into the pan. He continued on making multiple pancakes one after another. "I was thinking of giving him an office job before he had decided to do something different. I feel like he would get bored of the constant routine he's been stuck in since college."

Tau hummed. "Ana, sounds fun. I wonder what might have caused that in someone's life to want to change that drastically."

"It'll be good for later on in story when we explain more about him. Plus bits and pieces of his character will come out as the story will progress." Matthew plated the pancakes before drenching it in maple syrup. "But there's always the pacing of the story. I'm always worried about going too fast or too slow."

Tau watched as he continued pouring the syrup. "Really? Your other stories seemed fine."

"Three out of a hundred submissions." He muttered bitterly

"Experience is always good thing. I think you're just being hard on yourself…" Reaching over, he placed his hand over his gently. "Also I think the pancakes are drowning in your syrup and they don't appreciate it."

Matthew blinked, looking at the plate. Syrup was filled to the brim of the plate. He laughed a bit. "Sorry, I'll take this one then." He left the plate there turning to make another batch. "I'm sorry I'm being bitter, I can't help it." Staring at the pancakes, frustrated. "I need to be better so I can get something out that I can be proud of out." Though he knew it was much more than that.

Tau watched before watching him make a few more pancakes. "Well it's a good thing you've found yourself a good idea. Just remember to pace yourself too."

With a nod, he flipped the pancake, smiling. "Yea, I can't wait to write it."

The two sat down eating the food. Smooth and fluffy, just like his father used to make it. Then on top was drenched in maple syrup. Tau ate slowly, savoring the sweet taste of each pancake.

"Ana~ it really is good. Usually the ones I have are flat and filled with fruits. Though that could be a crepe now that I'm thinking about it..."

He laughed, "it definitely sounds like one."

Leaning his head against his hand, he watched the Canadian. "You'll be fine Matthew. Don't push yourself too hard and let things flow naturally."

"You think? I'm still worried about the upcoming draft for my editor."

"But you've got inspiration now, I think you should be okay. You should believe you can do things too." He said finishing up his meal. The utensils were placed down gently as his gaze returned to Matthew. "Besides, that's what usually gets things done."


	12. Chapter 12

Finally got over my writing slump, but I think by this time it's safe to say it would have came regardless. Anyways the note I made last chapter has been erased as I decided to put the conversation in this chapter instead (again, my brilliant planning skills are questioning) So there are no updates on Chapter 6. I apologize to anyone that went and checked.

Thank again for the wonderful reviews last chapter. I enjoy reading them and try to respond back to everyone who reviews (unless you're a guest or you don't allow PMing.)

Also I want to thank my beta-reader, _NinjaSphynxKitten_ for editing some of my earlier chapters. And if you haven't notice, the cover picture is indeed Thailand and Canada as chibis. I was able to get it commissioned and I couldn't be happier with the results. It can be easily found on deviantart on _Kikaru-StudioS_, so if you want to grab the picture too, it's there. So no other news update, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 12

_The town looked pleasant from his eyes. Large masses of tilled fields stretched to the horizon on one side while trees loomed on the other. Colors of red and gold scattered on the dirt path, crunching with every step he took. This was going to be his new start. His new location. His new home. It sounded nice in his head. Everything was laid out; his new job would begin once the supplies arrived, his new house was paid and ready to be lived in. He was ready to start over._

Matthew stared at his introduction paragraph for the umpteenth time, scratching his head. It wasn't right. The first paragraph should drag readers in and capture their attention. He let out another sigh before sipping his black tea.

Since a few days ago when Tau had left, he had been writing chapter after chapter of his new story. Most of the previous night was spent transcribing all he had written into his laptop. Despite his fast typing skills, it had taken longer than expected. It shocked him how much he was able to write without his laptop, but wondered how much he would write with it.

His thoughts went back to the farmhouse often with Antonio and Lovino. Their approach towards each day, how joyful they were when dealing with others. The scenery there had helped him with the setting in his own story. His hands slowly halted as he remembered the walk through the woods with Tau. A small smile slowly appeared on his face.

By this time, Tau should be in Las Vegas training for his next match, which according to his calendar, should be tomorrow night. They had traded numbers before leaving. The text message he got the following morning when he landed only made him happier. That was yesterday morning and he hasn't heard from him since then. Lien, on the other hand, has been keeping him updated as Tau requested. In return, he told her the updates on his story. He would have rather talked to him directly, but with only a short amount of time left before his match, he had to stay focus. And with similar time restraint on his meeting, he too had to stay focus.

With another glance at his laptop, he closed it for the day and left the crowded café. Spending over five hours there wasn't a bad thing, he got majority of his work done within the last few mornings. Last thing he wanted was to run into another block so soon. Unfortunately, it seemed like he may have ran into another one quicker than expected.

The meeting with his editor was coming up soon, tomorrow if he wanted to be exact. He wanted to get a good chunk of the story finished for him to look at. He hadn't expected this type of writer's block. The plot was there, lined out and ready to be written. The characters, introduced and living in said world. The setting, vivid as he could remember and with words to justify its beauty. But the romance, was questionable and unbelievable. How can he make two people fall in love?

Another sigh left him as he sat on the park bench again. It wasn't like he hadn't had relationships before. Two boyfriends at most and even a girlfriend in his earlier years, though he soon realized that the relationship was one sided as he was more gay than straight. Those relationships either ended awkwardly or they had simply drifted apart.

The sounds of cars, zooming and honking from behind him, sounded distant as he stared at the ground. Lost in his thoughts, his eyes scanned the park area. Every so often, he'll watch couples out of the corner of his eyes only to feel flustered when they started to do something intimate. Was this why?

Matthew, being the introvert he is, has always known he was a bit awkward when it came to romance. A bit nervous, sometimes skittish. Despite this, he enjoyed reading romance novels like a bible, understanding the characters, breaking down their personalities, interpreting how and why they fell in love. He often watched romantic comedies to understand the connection between expression and action. Despite _all_ of this, he has yet to write a romance novel of his own. Or at least something he would suffice to be deemed as 'romantic'.

He looked at the couple once more before pulling out his laptop and opening his story document. Writing in different locations sometimes sparked something else for him. He had hoped this was the case. He scrolled through the pages and stopped where he had last worked and read it over again.

_He followed her through the forest, wondering where she was taking him. Her brown locks flowed in the wind, laughing as she ran ahead of him. Her flowing white dress appeared to make her glow as she stood in the clearing of the woods. Her smile, gentle and calming, reaching out towards him to come closer._

"This might be a good location to confess." He spoke to himself. Originally, he had wanted the confession to be somewhere else, but this could be a good place as well. He closed his eyes to think things through before opening them a second later and started to write out the confession. He felt himself blushing lightly as his hands froze. _It's just a confession, no reason to get worked up over it._ Brushing it away, he tried to write before stopping again. _Wait would they kiss after a confession?_

His mind thought through the idea before shooting it down. _Maybe it's too quick… maybe she would wait._ His brows furrowed before closing his laptop again. _How were others able to do it so flawlessly?_ He pondered before tucking his laptop away as he heard the sounds of kids running towards the playground. He watched them for a minute or two before getting up and returning back to his apartment.

Once he entered, he had expected someone to pop out randomly like the last few days. First Al appeared out of no where then Tau then even after both of them left, out of stroke of luck (or bad luck) Arthur showed up half drunk from a meeting. He had finished his manuscript of his most recent story, but didn't want to stop celebrating just yet. Matthew didn't hate the company, he enjoyed it especially his trip with Tau. It had helped him with his story. But he needed to a break from said company and be alone to write out everything that has been stuck in his mind. Arthur, sadly didn't help the situation.

He set his bag on the table before laying down on the couch. Eyes wandered to the empty chair by his foot. The last few days had almost been a blessing. Even if the beginning was rough, he hadn't expected to find a friend through this.

Just yesterday, Tau was sitting on that chair, chatting about his story and discussing ideas. His eyes closed as he remember the last thing they spoke about. Something Matthew had thought about as well, but never had the chance to ask. The whirlwind dubbed Tau was different from what he had assume anyone who participated in any fighting sport would act. If he hadn't told him that he was a boxer, he would probably think he was in another profession.

But he told him why he enjoyed it. Why he part took in a sport that Matthew seemed to hate.

* * *

"Ana? What was that? You're mumbling, Matthew." Tau chuckled.

Hesitant about the question, he asked in what he deemed as a 'louder' voice. "Why did you decide to be a boxer?"

It wasn't much louder, but Tau caught it. "Same reason as to why you are a writer."

"You love it?"

There was a hint of amusement in his lips. "Something like that. I think I told you before that back home I compete in muay thai."

Matthew gave him a nod.

"Don't get me wrong, I like boxing as well, but-"

"It's not the same kind of passion, is it?" Matthew cut in.

"Exactly. It's not like I don't enjoy boxing. I am here for a boxing tournament after all. And both combat sports are similar in some aspects. So it's not like I'm doing something completely different. It's along the lines of asking a swimmer to only use their legs or arms rather than their entire body."

"But why do you enjoy boxing? Don't you see it as violent?" He asked unconsciously before realizing his thoughts already left his mouth.

His gaze watched Matthew intently. He felt himself hold his breath as the intensity of his glance froze him. Without a word, Matthew almost regretted asking the question. But his curiosity was much greater, a part of him needed to know. Understand. Why would someone like Tau, participated in a violent sport such as boxing.

He leaned back against the arm chair. "You're against boxing?" He asked calmly. Too calm for his likings. A small smile creeped on his lips. "Well… that would explain why you were sitting outside during that match."

"It's not that I'm against boxing… It's… I…" He was lost for words. Sure, he found that boxing wasn't exactly ethical. If he was honest, he would rather it be banned. But for the person that sat in front of him. The man that he had enjoyed the company of for the past few days. How was he supposed to explain that, when it was his own profession?

He let out a sigh. Whether it was to relieve the tension that sudden appear or not, it helped him relax slightly. "It's fine. I'm not going to tell you that boxing isn't a violent sport. It is. And it always will be unless we find a way to attack without hurting our opponent."

Matthew only watched, wondering. "If you know… then… why?" He wanted to be careful with his words. The Asian didn't seem to be the type to get angry over this, but there was still many things that he didn't know about the other man.

"Let's put it this way. Do you enjoy American football?"

Matthew blinked at the sudden question. "Yes… from time to time. I usually watch the Superbowl with my brother if he isn't busy."

"And you don't find it violent?"

Again stumped, he stared, silently thinking it over before shaking his head 'no'. He hadn't exactly labelled it as violent in his view.

"In that sport, people tackle each other over pig skin. The one holding it have people to help stopped them from getting tackled. But basically they're running to the other end weaving and avoiding getting tackled to score a goal."

Another nod. "I don't quite understand. That is the basis of the game."

"Remove the ball and imagine it again. If you just saw a one person be tackle by a bunch of people in public, wouldn't you find that violent? Just because boxing uses fists instead of full body combat doesn't make it any less violent than another sport. I think the issue is it looks like a usual fight you'll see between two people rather than a bunch of people tackling each other."

Matthew stared at him. Despite Tau's expression didn't hold any malice. His eyes spoke of victory over the argument. What he said reign true. There were combat sports out there even if he didn't view it so. For him to speak as he were, would that make him hypocritical to the situation?

"I'm not defending that boxing isn't violent. It can be and usually is, but I don't think you should put the blame on boxing and why people box only for that reason. There are people who do compete for the joy of hurting others, but there are people who don't. Everyone has their own reasons for things. And that applies to everything."

"…so why do you box?"

* * *

He asked and remembered the thin faint smile that appeared. He hadn't expected the question to hold any pain, but the look betrayed his thoughts.

_It is what keeps me sane._

He said. After that, his sister had called and he left briskly. Whether it was because he wanted to escape the conversation or was worried about his sister, he wasn't too sure. It still made him wonder if it was right to ask him that. He cursed his curious mind. It was something that he thought was a blessing, but it was often a double edge sword in these situations.

He pulled out his laptop again, booting it up. Unfortunately, his need to know often got the better of him. He typed in Tau's name into the search engine, stopping himself before entering. _What would be the fine line between wanting to know and stalking?_ After deeming it as 'wanting to understand him more', he entered the search. There wasn't much known about Tau. After receiving his last name from the boxing association website that was sponsoring the tournament. The search didn't result to much besides articles on his last few matches.

"Well he did said he was an amateur."

He wanted to continue searching, but decided that he'll hold off when he didn't have a deadline coming up soon. He switched over from the search to his story documents. He needed to finish the chapter before sending it off to his editor for the meeting tomorrow. Before he was able to fully immerse into his writer's mode, his phone rang. His eyes were too preoccupied on scanning through his chapters to check who was actually calling and answered.

"Hello?"

"Bonjour Matthieu~ So I heard from Alfred that you went and eloped with a boxer?"

That broke his thoughts as a blush crept up onto his face. "WHAT?!"


	13. Chapter 13

It's a miracle! I've gotten a chapter out not even a month after the last one. I've gotta say I'm proud of myself. (but it helps being on vacation and working on the story on the plane when I've got nothing better to do than listen to kids cry and scream) Anyways nothing much to be said besides beware of the number 13. Enjoy the story and please review! I love hearing what you guys think of the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 13

The laughter of his cousin's voice rang in his ears amused at his sudden outburst. It was cut short when he noticed his brother's voice in the background. Next thing he knew, Al's voice yelled through the speakers.

"What happened to you, Mattie?! I woke up and you were gone! You didn't even pick up your phone or called back! What the hell, man?"

Immediately, he moved the phone away from the damaging noise. "I'm sorry…" Though he wasn't sure why he was apologizing for having a life. "I told you in the note that Tau wanted to bring me somewhere to help out with my novel."

"You couldn't go there yourself?"

"It's not like I own a car." Muttering to himself. And he wasn't on planning to get one any time soon either. The city's transportation was efficient and he didn't have problems walking to places close by. "It's fine though, I'm back home now. Why did you take this long just to check on me though?"

"I was busy when I got back. Kiku ended up finding this horrible bug that glitches and crashes the game. So we were working day and night to fix it. We're beta-testing it now so I went to talk to Francis about it and remembered."

_Glad to hear I rank so highly on your priorities._ He could hear an argument between his brother and cousin, a shuffling in the speakers before Francis returned back to the call.

"Sorry about that. I forgot he was still here when I called." There was a momentary pause and some movement before a muffled. "Don't you have to get back to work now?" His voice soon returned back. "Anyways, Alfred told me that he was a boxer? His name, I believe, was Tau?"

Hearing his name flared up his cheeks again. "We didn't elope! We just went to a farm for some research on my new story."

"Oh ho~? Research, you say?" He spoke in a teasing manner. "And what kind of _research_ would this be?"

The teasing didn't help with him trying to calm his nerves. "It really was research. We were looking at rural areas for a setting."

"If you say so, Matthieu." Amused and most likely grinning from the other end. "You'll have to tell me more about him soon." There was a heavy sigh and a click of his tongue. "Mon dieu, I'm sorry Matthieu, I've got to cut this conversation short. I've gotta head to the office."

Matthew looked at the clock on his laptop. "This late?" It was already getting close to dusk and no doubt later for Francis.

"Yes, I've got a last minute runway to get ready for and you would not believe the amount of work that's yet to be finished. I feel like I'm starting to get bags under my eyes." He whined before a loud ring interrupted him. "And that would be my secretary. I'll talk to you soon Matthieu. Au voir!" A click and dead silence.

Matthew put his phone down. Somehow relieved to avoid a talk with his cousin Francis, but also a bit disappointed that he wasn't able to inform him about his new story. The blond often enjoyed teasing Matthew thoroughly whenever he was in a relationship. The Frenchmen found it worthwhile for the responses that were given as his two younger sisters were much harder to tease.

Francis was becoming known in the fashion industry over in New York. His family had lived in France before hand before Francis had moved to Quebec for his last few years of high school and for his family's job. During one of their family trips together, along with Arthur's family, they went to the Big Apple and Francis fell in love with the city.

He deemed that it didn't have the charm of Paris, but it intrigued him enough for him to go to school there. And so four years later, with a diploma in his hand, he interned with one of his fashion idols and everything has been going well for him since.

Matthew missed Francis' company when he left. The Frenchmen understood him better than most of his family. He was always encouraging him toward his dreams. The support that he always needed in the worst situations. Not to say, his brother or Arthur wasn't there to help him, but Francis has always had a special place in his heart.

He found uncanny similarities between his cousin and Tau were almost frightening. The two were great supports towards his goal. He felt at ease with them, easily talking about anything with either person. He wasn't sure how true it was, but there was almost a protectiveness the two exerted when he was with them. It felt safe and calm. Was it because of these similarities that made him comfortable with a stranger so quickly? Even if he only knew Tau for a few days, it felt much longer than that. And he wanted to know more. His curiosity, his cursed blessing, wanted more.

Before allowing himself to get dragged away in his thoughts, he stared at his laptop and continued working. _Regardless, I still need to get this done…_

* * *

The single standing brick building loomed over him. The cloudy day didn't help the intimidation that the building held. As he climbed up towards the third floor, the old building creaked and moaned with every strong gust of wind that past through. The interior walls showed the wear and tear of the years from the cracked paint chips. Despite the building was five stories high, it didn't possess an elevator and with every step that was taken, it creaked under the weight.

There were only five departments left within the older building. One of them held his editors, who collaborated with his publishers that relocated earlier in the year to a newer building. The company hadn't wanted to move, but due to the older building and the need for newer technology and space, they were forced to leave for a newer building. Matthew wondered when the editor section were going to follow, but it wasn't likely due to the sentimentality the building held. The other departments in the building varied in start up companies and similar older companies that refused to leave.

Jansen Publishing has edited and printed a variety of literature over the years. The company was well known as being one of the publishing starters back in the day. Their popularity slowly declined in the last decade due to new competition. Despite that, the company still continue to be a well known publisher in throughout the United States.

The Jansen family, owners of Jansen Publishing, which included Emma, Lars, and their youngest brother, Noah had inherited their family's business of publishing just five years ago when the eldest had graduated. Their parents decided to retire early and returned back to their homeland of the Netherlands, where they lived peacefully among the tulips. At least that's what he's heard at least.

Lars Jansen, the eldest of the three decided to take over the editing sector of their business. He's also taken upon himself to micromanaged the accounting portion of it as well. His younger sister, Emma Jansen, inherited the publishing section the following year, but decided to hold onto the position until Noah had graduated. She found the position too constricting to her taste and preferred to micromanaged smaller parts of the business while assisting her two brothers. Noah Jansen, the youngest, was in his last two years of college. Despite his studies, he often helped the business in his spare time by running errands.

Matthew was more than happy to be able to get published by them. Lars had found him interesting when they first met in college during Sophomore year. Emma, who was a year older found Matthew charming and often seek him out. Through their connections, he was able to get his first three books published by Jansen Publishing within the last three years.

Matthew knocked on the department's door before peaking his head in. "Hello?"

Upon entering the open area, it felt vastly different from the exterior of the building. The interior of the editor's office were clean and well-polished. Light blue tiles laid out on the floors with bright white walls allowing the room to look brighter than it would without the lighter coloring.

Despite the cleanliness, there was a huge amount of clutter around every desk. From here, he noticed some of the trashcans filled to the brim with plastic cups, bags and papers. Cups of empty and half-filled coffee scattered around each desk and the small kitchen in the corner.

A chipper woman with short blonde hair approached him. "Matthew! We've been waiting for you. How are you?"

"I'm good, Emma. How about you?"

"I've been great, Matthew." Her cat like smile faltered as her sharp green eyes darted towards his neck. "Matthew, you're going to catch a cold like that." Her hands immediately went towards his scarf, adjusting it to cover more of his neck. Her smile returned in full. "There we go. That will keep you warm. The heater is currently being fixed, so we're trying to keep as warm as possible."

"T-Thank you…" He hadn't noticed that the Belgian woman in front of him was still in her jacket and gloves. But he soon realized that the temperature didn't feel much different from the outside. "I heard you and your brothers were taking some time off."

She pouted a bit. "Yes, that is correct, we wanted to visit our parents for their anniversary. But since that requires all three of us, we'll have to close down the editing section until we return. Lars doesn't want to put anyone else in charge." She huffed, clearly annoyed with her older brother. "That's why we've been swamped for the past two weeks! I've been on the phone nonstop between the editors with book proposals and designers with book covers. That's not including all the calls for promotion of current books and stocks. Noah has been running back and forth from here to the printers and Lars has consecutive meetings every day from morning to night. Not including all the paperwork for manuscripts that are ready for a book proposal." She breathed heavily as all the stress from the past two weeks had exploded in her in those few minutes.

"Matthew."

The deep voice, drew their attention towards the taller male. The faint smell of tobacco wavered from him as he strode over with a manila folder in his hand. His long blue and white scarf flowed after him as he walked over, easily towering over the two. "Let's go." He turned and headed straight towards one of the meeting rooms.

Matthew watched wearily before giving a smile towards Emma. "Well it was great to talk to you again. I'll see you later then, Emma."

Before he could leave, she gave him a light squeeze on his shoulder, giving a worried look before smiling softly. "Same here. I'll be outside if you need me." Her hand left his shoulder before returning back towards one of the desks.

Matthew followed after the Dutchman, but his earlier mood seemed to dampen at Emma's worries. He was starting to feel anxious as he entered the room.

Lars sat down on his chair as he motioned Matthew to sit down across from him. His expression was stoic and intimidating. Without any words, he sense it wasn't a good sign. Though to be honest, that was his expression majority of the time. Rarely did the man crack a smile. Though from what Emma had told him, he used to when he was younger.

Matthew sat down carefully, maintaining his eye contact with him. When the door closed, it was almost like he was placed into a cage with a wild animal. Lars' blue eyes watched his every movement. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back and pulled out the manuscript from the folder, placing it in front of him. Immediately Matthew violet eyes darted around the page noticing the red ink that painted over the white paper. He felt his stomach turn as he reached out to look at it. It was almost as if a battle took place on it and he was positive he lost that battle.

"Have you been keeping an eye on the most recent bestsellers?"

"No… I haven't check in the past few weeks." His mind was filled with different scenarios in trying to write a new story to check out other authors.

"I suggest you do then. Specifically, number ten on the list, _Remembering Spring_. It is rather similar to your story and so happened to be published by my company as well. Not entirely similar, but from what I've gander, it's close enough."

Panic rose in him as his eyes immediately flew towards him. "I didn't-"

He held a hand up, cutting him off. "I didn't say you did." Matthew was about to protest, but his editor's cold eyes silenced him. "I'm just warning you. I don't know if Emma would approve of this, no matter how good it is after _Remembering Spring_ was released just months ago. But that's beside the point. You know how the critics are. They're ruthless when they want to."

Matthew knew well enough. Oh, he knew them so well. They have been nothing, but ruthless when he first started out. His first book was everything, but something for him to call proud. Predictable. Uninspiring. Lackluster. Words that continuously appear in the comments. Sure, there were some good comments, but he felt them drown around the critics. Lars had warned him beforehand, but he was certain. He wanted a book released. He was confident in his writing. And that ended up clouding his mind.

He hesitated. He wanted to ask, but was worried about the answer. So his accursed curiosity asked for him. "Should I scrap the idea?" He knew the answer, but he didn't want to admit it. He didn't even have the courage to look at the man anymore.

His violet eyes, instead, stayed focused on the manuscript in his hands. The same manuscript that has given him a glimmer of hope after several weeks of disappointments. Several weeks of starting a new story due to his lack of interest in the previous. Several weeks of the inability to even write something decent enough for him to want to share. Staring at the manuscript he had worked on for the last week. The memories of the week that brought his inspiration back. His stomach felt itself tighten as he clutched that same manuscript. The one that was now bloodied in red ink.

Lars gave him a long look. "…it's your decision." The same answer he gave him last time. His observing eye watched Matthew's movements. Matthew's long nimble hands tighten around the manuscript turning his knuckles white. "Matthew."

"No…" His voice barely above a whisper. "You're right." His hands involuntarily shook before releasing his grip allowing the script to fall onto his lap. He knew in his head that if he were to send this out, the critics will compare it to the bestsellers immediately without mercy. He would basically be setting himself out to fail and not in a pleasant way either.

The Dutchman watched the smaller man before letting out another sigh. He rubbed his temples slowly, easing out the stress that was accumulating throughout the day. "Matthew. If you really care about this then we can still push forward with the story. We can go into more details about-"

"No!" He didn't mean to yell, it even shocked Lars for a second, but at that moment he had an urge to. "No… really. You're right." He could feel his voice cracking. "Y-You're right. I'll scrap it." He stood up carefully, shoving the manuscript into his laptop bag before turning to leave. "Thank you for your time, Lars. Enjoy your holiday."

"Matthew…" Lars stood up as well, his expression held a hint of anxiety. "Wait."

The command didn't reach Matthew's ears as he bolted out as quickly as he could, passing by Emma who stood up from her desk to try to follow him. But he left rapidly, closing the door to the department and out the building.

"Matthew!" Emma was about to follow after, but Lars placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Let him be, Emma. He needs to be alone right now."

"But Lars, we can't just leave him like that!" Her tone filled with worry. Her earlier worries seemed to prove themselves correct as the fear came true. "Didn't I tell you to let him down easy?"

He let out a deep sigh. "I told him the facts and what could happen. Let him think things through." Stuffing his hands into his pocket. "I'm going out to have a smoke. When is the next author coming in?"

The blonde frowned but pulled out her phone and looked through the schedule. "Not for another twenty minutes since this meeting ended early."

"That's enough time." He headed towards the door. "We already have enough on our hands today until the end of the week. If you're that worried, call Noah to check on him. He should be around that area later today."

With a huff and stomp of her heel. "You're so heartless, Lars!"

* * *

Frustration, anger, sadness. All burned within him as he hurried home. He could feel small tears forming at the edges of his eyes, but brush them away as he allowed his other emotions consumed him. Thoughts flew and dashed within his mind. What was he going to do now? What _should_ he be doing now? What's next? He hasten his speed as he got closer towards his apartment, ignoring the strong cold wind that tried to push him back.

Slamming the door open and closing it with more force than needed. He proceeded straight towards his room tossing his laptop bag onto his bed before crawling underneath the blankets.

Tired. That's what he felt throughout his body. He hadn't done anything physical, but he mentally felt it. His energy that was bursting through him was easily drained within the last hour. His mind was too exhausted to continue thinking.

"What should I do now?" He muttered quietly, allowing his mind to wander. Closing his eyes slowly the last thought that passed his mind before he slept was the last conversation with his parents. _Maybe they were right._


	14. Chapter 14

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I know I'm a little late for some parts of the world, but I really do hope you have a fantastic year this year. Be happy and smile. Now with the new year wishes pass, the amount of times that I've tried to write this chapter for a Christmas release and failed miserably explains why it's now being released for New Year's, but you know, what better way to start a new year than learning about someone's past. I did make it longer just to make it up for missing all the holidays.

I hope you enjoy it, I actually had a hard time writing this chapter. I felt like it's very choppy and a bit rushed (and still do), but I hope you enjoy it and would love your feedback on what you thought. Thank you so much for the reviews from last chapters and please do continue leaving reviews. I really do want to hear what you think, even if you just fangirl over stuff, I'll be right there fangirlling with you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia; Himaruya Hidekaz own it. I don't own any schools in this chapter nor do I have any association with them. I find it easier to just use school names than to make something up. I only own any OCs I may have used and the plot.

* * *

Chapter 14

_What do you want to be when you grow up?_

Matthew often wondered why adults would ask that question and agree to whatever the child answered. They would agree and praise the child in whichever occupation they chosen. Only after he had left home and lived on his own had he realized the question despite the wide array of answers; was limiting once he was older.

The sky's the limit as a child. The answers varied from one extreme to the next. Wanted to be an astronaut? President? Pilot? Superhero? Queen of England? Wanted to be all of that and own a pony? That was fine for a parent. Even if the child wanted to be an alien when they grew up. All would be approved and praised.

So why isn't it the same once they were older?

When asked the question of what he wanted to be when he grew up, Matthew wanted to be just like his parents. Though he wasn't sure what they exactly did. He known that they often were out in the field. Their work has helped many people from what they said. For that reason alone, that's what he wanted, to be someone that could help a lot of people. His brother wanted to be a superhero just like Captain America. Though that was the most common one, Alfred often changed his mind, most of them were extreme. One week it was a dare devil, the next week an astronaut, the following, a cowboy. He even wanted to be a toy one time due to a movie. And much like any other parent, they approved and told them, _you'll be the best one ever._

Approval and acceptance. Wasn't that what most kids wanted? Wasn't that what most people wanted? To be able to have a place where they were undeniably accepted regardless of what they did.

* * *

Growing up with an older brother meant many things to Matthew. One, he had someone to look to for advice and spend time with. Two, rivalry between the two often occurred for sports and grades. And three, the fight for their parent's affection and attention.

Sadly with the last one, Matthew usually lost out. Though he was often the well-behaved child, listening to his parents and following the rules. Alfred took majority of the spotlight due to his antics and what most parents would deem as rebellious behavior. And Matthew often wondered if that was the reason, why his parents pushed him more towards science. They found that being similar to them meant that they were more well-behaved.

There were a few months before graduation. All the seniors were scrambling to get things ready for their last year. Especially college acceptance letters. Matthew had sent his in for early decision and was waiting patiently for his letter as he watched his brother scramble to get his before break.

"Yo Mattie. Whatcha doing? Writing your acceptance speech to mom and dad for getting into University of Toronto?" He snickered a bit.

Matthew huffed, but ignored his brother as he continued typing on his desktop allowing the words in his head to flow onto the screen. "No, just working on my story. And how's _your_ college application going?"

"Hey I applied to somewhere just now." He entered the room and sat on the bed, staring at the screen. "Your hobby is getting out of control. With the amount of things you've written you should just become a writer like Arthur."

After finding a good place to stop, Matthew turned around in his computer chair to give him his full attention. "It's a hobby. So, where did you apply to?"

His grin widen from the question before pulling out one of the brochures from the college fair a few days ago. "N.Y.U., baby."

"New York University…? You applied for a school in America?"

"That's right. For game design and programming."

"Does mom and dad know about this?"

Alfred shrugged casually. "I'll tell them when I get the letter. Besides, I thought you'd go to one of those Ivy League schools in America instead of staying here."

"Dad is an alumni at University of Toronto."

"Yea, yea, and so was mom with Harvard. They still remind us every day." He rolled his eyes. "But I doubt either of them will help me out with game design."

"You never know, why don't you look into it? Toronto has a good diversity in majors, maybe they'll have game design."

"I don't want to become a mini version of our parents and you shouldn't either. You don't have to do something cause mom and dad did it."

Matthew was taken back a bit at Alfred's words. He had known his parents always had an outlook of going to college with a good major to obtain a good stable life. They had pushed that onto their kids too, often warning them about majors that wouldn't be a good life choice. "I like biology. I've even got top grades in it."

Alfred rolled his eyes this time. "I've gotten top grades in wood shop, you don't see me applying to school for that."

Irritated by his words, he approached his brother. "It's a good choice, Al. I've talked to mom and dad, they seemed happy about the decision and so am I. What's wrong with majoring in something you're good at?"

This made Alfred get to his feet. "I'm just saying, shouldn't you go for something you like? But you know if biology makes you feel all giddy inside then there's no complaints."

"Right, there's no complaints."

"Fine then."

Matthew frowned as his brother left the room. What was wrong with his decision? If anything, his brother was in the wrong for choosing a field that could prove difficult to get into. Returning his chair, he continued writing the scene, ignoring what his brother said.

* * *

As the months flew by, graduation came and went without stopping. Matthew found himself enjoying his father's old school of University of Toronto. He listened to his father's stories when he was in college. The memories only left him excited to make his own. He found the diverse people enjoyable and interesting and his two roommates Vlad and Kalin were just as fascinating.

The two had grown up together and ended up going to the same school as well. They were warm and friendly, welcoming Matthew into their group quickly. Vlad was studying in the same major as him while Kalin was majoring in history. He soon discovered why Kalin often looked at Matthew with a worried face when he left the two alone.

"Matt," Vlad spoke during their break from their lab period, his red eyes almost grinning with joy. "Kalin was telling me about this project he has to do for family history. So he went digging through some of his family old heirlooms and found out his father had taken part of one of the wars when he lived in Bulgaria."

Leaving his finger on where he last stopped, Matthew turned to listen. He had a feeling something was off from the smile he gave. Kalin had often warned him about Vlad's stories, he wondered if this was one of them. "Isn't that something to be proud of?"

"Of course!" Giving a toothy grin. "But what was interesting was the photos taken during that time. He was showing me them and I pointed out one of the people in the picture. He looked a bit weird."

"Weird?"

"Yea, the uniform looked a bit different compared to the other soldiers around him."

"Was he on the other side? Or apart of a different military?"

"That's the weird part! We're not entirely sure. He also looked a bit transparent. So he asked his dad and he said he's never seen that person there. He would've remembered since he was close to everyone on the team."

Matthew slightly paled, realizing that this was the turn for the worst part of the story. "…so…"

"I think it was an apparition from another war or something. There's no doubt about it."

The last three months he'd spent with the man, he'd come to realized how much Vlad adored the paranormal. Like his brother, he often didn't enjoy listening to ghost stories. Due to this, he was able to avoid most of the conversations, but Kalin kept telling him to watch out. With that warning in the back of his mind, Vlad's eyes lit up as he continued talking to him about the paranormal, the chances of it being real, why the man was there and all his theories.

A chill ran down his spine as he continued to listen to him, wondering if he should try to block it out or not. Instead, he attempted to look at his notebook to half listen to him and half distract himself. It didn't work as well as he wanted, but he was soon saved by the professor announcing the end of break.

This was his normal life in college. Labs twice a week, two to three classes per day, and time spent with his two roommates. He was happy and settled into the lifestyle easily. He found the material to be interesting and though he had some problems here and there, he found ways to get around it. That was until the second semester hit him.

Suddenly, the material became harder and the amount of free time he had, was cut short. Each of his classes had given him work that often overlapped with other classes. For once, Matthew felt overwhelmed. The material no longer came as easily to him. With the newer material, it had left him stumped. Everything at that time just seemed to stop working.

"Matthew, you don't look too good. Want some coffee?"

Matthew was resting his head on one of his thick, heavy textbooks. Mid-terms were coming and no matter what he did, he felt as if none of the material were going to stick in his mind in time for the test tomorrow. He turned to notice the dark haired man leaning over his desk holding a pot of coffee. The smell tempted him, but he knew coffee never worked on him. Regardless he nodded and Kalin poured it into a mug, placing it by him.

"Your dark circles are going to start matching Vlad soon enough." He spoke, though his eyes were just as worn and tired as Matthew's.

With the burning drink in hand, he thanked his roommate and allowed the heat to warm him up. "Where is Vlad?"

"He's napping on the couch right now. I'm about to go wake him up. You sure you don't want a break? It won't do you any good if you sleep through your test tomorrow."

He yawned, but stood up to stretch. "No it's fine. I still need to understand this."

Kalin only nodded before going towards the couch, attempting to wake up his friend.

Despite his attempts to study the previous night, he was positive he didn't do as well as he's hoped when he left the classroom. There were some answers that he knew the professor was going to give him a questionable look afterwards. Once the test was finished, he trod back to his dorm and fell into bed. Vlad had followed the same suit and Kalin, who had finished his test earlier was already sleeping.

The results were eventually posted online and Matthew could feel his heart drop. Despite passing, almost all of his classes, his grades were between average or below. None had gotten to failing and he prayed they never will. With that, the classes still continued, as they now prepared them for finals. The tiredness never left him as he dragged himself to continue the rest of the year seeing similar results with the finals.

That summer he returned back to a much needed hibernation, resting in bed for majority of the first week. He hadn't told his parents much about the results, only mentioning bits and pieces of fonder memory. They only nodded, telling them how proud they were of him for choosing a 'better' path than his older brother.

A week later, Alfred had told him he was returning back home. His parents had work, so he had the great pleasure of picking up his brother. While waiting for him at the airport, Matthew wondered if Alfred was in the same boat as him. Was he just as drained as he was? Was he tired after the semester was over? Was he glad it was over for the summer break?

But like many things he had assumed, he was wrong. Alfred returned home full of smiles. He threw an arm over his brother as they headed out, speaking happily of his year. It was without question, he was excited for the next. While listening to his brother continue talking, he couldn't help, but wonder, was he doing something wrong?

"Hey Mattie, how's your school? Are you happy there?" Alfred asked.

Matthew looked into his brother's sky blue eyes. They looked worried, but Matthew didn't want to admit it to his brother. Call it his stupid pride and rivalry over his brother. He wasn't happy, he wanted to crawl under a rock and wait until the three years were over to see if it was better. He didn't feel any of the energy that his brother felt for his school, yet he gave a small smile, pushing the thought away. "Yea. I am."

* * *

The summer had ended and Matthew returned back to his college with the same roommates. Vlad had insisted on rooming together again and Matthew wasn't about to deny good company, no matter how down in the dumps he felt. The three month vacation had left him realizing that he may have blown it out of proportion. After all, it was only one year, he still had three more and he was sure it was just bad semester.

Matthew stared blankly at his textbook before gazing up at his blank document. The homework assignment was due tomorrow morning, yet he couldn't find it to concentrate after finishing his last assignment. He took one last look at the textbook before deciding to procrastinate it by looking through his usb's folder. Stopping on a folder named, 'Stories', he opened it before staring at the multiple files in it. _My old stories…_ Reminiscing in them, he picked one of the files and started to scan through them.

It had been a half an hour before Vlad poke his head over from one of the computer cubicles next to him. "Hey Matt, did you understand the seventh question? I can't seem to find it."

Matthew looked up from his screen, looking a bit flustered. "What?"

He blinked before looking onto his screen. "Are you working on an essay?"

"No… Not exactly…" He started, switching to the other word document as quickly as he could. "Which question were you talking about?"

Vlad only shrugged it off before asking for the question again, which Matthew dutifully replied. "Oh, I haven't gotten to that one yet." His attention returned back to his textbook as he went to the question to read it.

The man stared a bit perplexed at Matthew's screen again noticing the empty page. "You haven't even started?"

He looked sheepishly. "Sorry, I got distracted."

"By an essay?"

"A book actually. I wrote it back in high school."

Vlad's eyebrow rose. "You're an author?"

"Just for fun. It was a hobby back then." He started typing up the seventh answer. "By the way, the answer was in the small text in the margins."

Vlad stared at his textbook page in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? I've been searching for it for ten minutes now!" He huffed before sitting down, writing up the answer.

The Canadian chuckled before going back to the beginning of the questions to work on them. Though he finally was able to get his work started, his mind still wandered back to the document that held his story. He knew what happened next, but he still wanted to read it again. Immerse himself into the story once again and see the world change around him. _Wouldn't that be nice?_

The following weeks afterwards, he found himself working on his old stories again. His free time was spent re-reading and editing. He stayed in the library longer, for when he was finished with his homework, he started working on the stories again.

It was a few weeks later when Kalin and Vlad started picking up the fact that Matthew was getting more distracted than usual.

"That essay must be _really_ interesting." Kalin spoke a bit too loudly into the Canadian's ear as he looked at the screen.

Matthew jumped at Kalin's sudden voice. His head turned noticing the Bulgarian for the first time that day. "Kalin, I didn't realized you came home."

He chuckled. "I've been back for ten minutes now. Is Vlad in his room?"

"I think he said he had a group project to work on." He said about to return back to his work.

"I got back home half an hour ago!" Vlad yelled from his room, scaring both of them from his sudden voice. A moment later he walked out of the room, grinning. "Don't worry Kalin, he didn't see me either when I got back. Apparently, Matt's an author."

"Really?" His tone didn't sound surprise, but held interest. "How many books have you written?"

Quickly, Matthew shook his head. "No! It's just a hobby I picked up since middle school."

"A hobby doesn't often have over 100 pages of written material." Kalin spoke as he headed towards the open kitchen across the living room.

Vlad's eyes widen. "A hundred?" He immediately grinned, bouncing onto the couch next to him. "Looks like you're in charge of bedtime stories then."

Matthew laughed a bit. "Alright, that is if we ever go to sleep at the same time."

"Hey you should write a horror story. There's this story I've heard back in Romania that's been passed down and-"

Immediately Matthew and Kalin paled. "NO VLAD!"

* * *

Weeks have passed as the end of mid-terms came and went. Regardless of the tests, his mind was fully set on his stories as his grades took another dive. He panicked at first, worried on how he was going to pull them back up. Yet he found that he hadn't mind or a care a few days that followed. He was more worried on his story. He wanted to focus only on that and he did when he was finished classes.

Kalin passed by him one time, while he was working on the couch. He sat down beside him, peeking at the screen. "Hey Matthew."

Matthew looked over, but his eyes looked a bit dazed from focusing on the screen for too long. "Hey Kalin, Vlad isn't home."

He only smiled, knowing that he often asked him that question. "I know, he's visiting his family for the weekend, but that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. You've been focusing on that story like you're on a deadline. You sure it's a hobby?"

Matthew only knew Kalin for a year now, but he's always known him for how perceptive the man could be. Picking up smaller details that others didn't notice. He was a quiet guy, kept to himself usually, but was always friendly. "It is. It's not exactly a stable career if I decided to go into it."

Kalin only stared at him in disbelief before laughing. "You sound exactly like my grandparents. They always tell me to find a good career, get a good wife, buy a house and live a happy life."

"It sounds logical." He retorted.

"It does, but I've also listened to my dad complained about his job 24/7. It's a good job, he has a good house and wife, but he's not living a very happy life. At least not a hundred percent."

Matthew listened, curious. A good job, a significant other, and a house. Would that mean a happy life? "Are… you doing something you love, Kalin?"

"I am, I always love learning about history. It makes me curious on how what we did then and how it effects us now." He smiled fondly. "How about you? Are you doing something you love?"

He hesitated as he looked at the screen again. He knew if he said 'yes', it was obvious that he wasn't. His focus for majority of the semester had been elsewhere. His grades clearly showed his attention wasn't on the material any longer. No matter when he tried to work on his homework, he never gave the attention that it deserved especially for something that he was going to dedicate the rest of his life for.

Kalin took his silence as an answer as he got up again. "There's this quote I've seen somewhere. I think it's plastered on the English department walls. It says that if you want to know where your heart is, look at where your mind wanders."

With that, he walked away leaving Matthew to his story. Alone again, he stared at his screen. The words Kalin spoke of often left him thinking. His eyes wandered onto his screen as he noticed the amount of words he's written, the amount of pages he's created, and the time he's spent on it. Could he really become a writer?

The thought stuck with him as he spent the remaining time working on his story. The longer he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. Sure, it would be hard. He knew how difficult it was to get into the writing industry, but thinking about his last few years, he has always been writing. When he was happy, he wrote. When he was sad, he wrote. He always turned to writing to express his thoughts and allowed his imagination to flow freely. Something that biology could never do.

That night while Kalin was out with some friends, he decided to call up his parents. He found they usually gave him good advice, but he was anxious. The last time they talked about this topic was with Alfred when he told them he got accepted into NYU. They didn't take it as well as he expected. They yelled at his irresponsibility from not telling them beforehand. Now that Matthew thought back to it, he applauded his brother for the courage to tell them. As the other line picked up, he wonder if he could have the same courage too.

"Hey mom?" He stopped himself, thinking it through, re-confirming himself again. _I can do this_. "I wanted to talk to you. I'm thinking about changing majors."

She sounded tired when she responded. "Matthew? Sorry I just returned back home. What did you want to talk about?"

His voice shook as he asked again. "I wanted to talk about changing majors, mom."

"…to what?"

"I don't know… But I think I want to be a writer."

A heavy sigh. "Matthew, you're just tired. It's after mid-terms and you're stressed. I understand. You're just having these thoughts."

"No, I'm considering it." He tried to hold firm, but he had understood where his mother was heading towards.

"Matthew, the chances of being a writer and making a living off of it is even worst than your brother's chances of getting into the video game industry. What are you going to do if you don't get a good job and can't survive on your own?"

Those exact words he has heard over and over again. And if he was honest to himself, he was getting so tired of listening to it. Whether the words were directed to himself or someone else, he was getting annoyed at it. Was it wrong to want to do something with his own life? Was it wrong to follow a dream now? "I want to write mom! I hate biology, I can't focus on it anymore! I don't want to do this anymore!"

There wasn't a response as the other line stayed silent for a few moments. "You're going to give up a good future just like your brother?" Her voice was cold and he could feel it from the other side.

He felt his courage falter. "I-I don't know yet… I said I was considering it."

"I see. Well it's late Matthew. Please sleep on this. I'll talk to you soon. Good night." She didn't wait for an answer as she hung up.

Matthew lowered his cell to his lap. Feeling frustrated as he squeezed his phone tightly. "…Night mom."

* * *

The following weeks, along with Vlad and Kalin's support. He started talking to his advisor and the English department. His friends' support had helped him through the problem, without consulting further with his parents. As he continued talking to different people he realized that he may have to look somewhere else for what he wanted. This time he didn't hesitate and by the early spring, he had his transfer ready for fall. He was taking courses that could transfer to his new university and with that he was ready.

He had wished he could stay longer with his roommates, they had grown close in the past two years but they knew that he needed to leave. As long as he was at University of Toronto, his father's legacy would haunt him. And the school, though they stated he could create his own major, he decided he wanted something structured. On their last day of their second year, Matthew thanked and wished his roommates luck before leaving the university for good.

He spent the summer writing as much as he could and that autumn, he arrived to the University of Chicago. According to his advisor, he'll basically be starting his second year over again, but he didn't mind. He knew he wanted to do this. He pulled his car up to his new dorm, looking at the brick building. "I'll be staying here for the next year." He spoke to himself as he walked in to get his room assignment.

"Hi! Name?" A cheery blonde asked.

"Matthew Williams."

Her fingers ran through the tiny envelopes before pulling out the key. "Fantastic, Matthew. I'll be your RA this year, Emma Jansen. If you have any question, just knock on my door." She handed the key to him with a bright smile. "Welcome to University of Chicago, Matthew."


End file.
